Kalshi Pushes for 24/7 Perpetual Futures on US Stocks

Kalshi, a prediction-market platform, is seeking approval from regulators to list perpetual futures contracts tied to major U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This would allow traders to bet on companies like Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia around the clock, even when Wall Street itself is shut for the night or the weekend.

The platform plans to seek approval for about 60 perpetual futures contracts tied to individual stocks and ETFs. These contracts would trade continuously, without a fixed expiration date, filling the gap left when traditional exchanges close for the day or the weekend.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contract in May 2026, treating it as a standard futures product. The CFTC has indicated that perpetual contracts tied to other assets will face individual, case-by-case reviews. Citadel Securities has argued that equity-linked perpetuals should remain under SEC oversight, citing consistency and the risk of creating a parallel market.

The regulatory landscape is complex, with risks related to insider trading and trading halts also raised as concerns. Shares of traditional futures exchange operators CBOE and CME Group have fallen after the CFTC's initial approvals, reflecting investor concern that perpetual contracts could siphon volume away from established exchanges.