CFTC clears Kalshi to list single-stock perpetual futures
The Commodity Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved Kalshi Inc. to list single-stock perpetual futures, marking the first time the agency has authorized such instruments. Filed in September, Kalshi's application sought clearance for derivative contracts with no expiration date that track individual equities. The products let users take leveraged positions on equities without owning underlying shares. The approval comes as Kalshi and Polymarket expand event-contract offerings. The new category could draw volume from traditional options markets and prediction-market venues seeking to diversify beyond binary political and sports contracts.
Single-stock perpetuals give Kalshi a product that sits between traditional options and prediction markets, pulling traders from both pools. Unlike expiring event contracts, these instruments run indefinitely, so Kalshi captures ongoing fee revenue rather than one settlement. Polymarket lacks this specific CFTC approval and now faces a regulator that is greenlighting novel structures even as state gambling enforcement intensifies.
The timing matters: Kalshi is fighting state actions in Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, and Louisiana, where its CFTC shield is already cracked. A federal win on product innovation bolsters its preemption argument in those courts. Competitors must now decide whether to file parallel CFTC applications or cede this product segment. The first trades will show whether retail prediction-market users adopt equity-linked perpetuals or whether the audience stays in options.
Becomes the second platform this week to gain new CFTC clearance after Sporttrade's DCM and DCO registration, as federal product approvals accelerate while state gambling enforcement fragments national markets.