Kalshi Takes Aim at Mainstream Markets with S&P 500 Perpetual Futures

Prediction-market operator Kalshi has filed with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to list perpetual futures tied to the S&P 500 and copper.

This marks a significant move for Kalshi, which is known for event-based contracts but is now trying to break into mainstream markets with perpetual futures, or 'perps', that don't expire.

The key feature of these derivatives is that they settle profits and losses continuously through mark-to-market, and also involve funding payments that keep the perp's price aligned with the index.

Kalshi hopes to make it easier for traders to take leveraged long or short exposure to broad stock benchmarks like the S&P 500 without owning underlying shares or constantly rolling contracts.