Kalshi Seeks Regulated Perpetual Futures on Top Stocks
Kalshi, a prediction-market platform, is reportedly planning to seek approval for its first regulated U.S. perpetual futures tied to individual stocks. This includes Tesla Inc., Apple Inc., and Nvidia Corp. The company aims to offer roughly 60 perpetual contracts, or 'perps,' tied to major stocks and exchange-traded funds.
The push builds on Kalshi's move into regulated crypto perpetuals. In May, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved KalshiEX's Bitcoin perpetual future. The CFTC also said it would not object to Coinbase Global Inc. giving U.S. customers access to certain crypto perps traded on its Deribit platform.
Kalshi has already launched 24/7 gold and silver perpetuals with leverage of up to 15 times, according to the company. However, single-stock contracts face an additional regulatory hurdle. The Securities and Exchange Commission guide to broker-dealer registration says futures on individual securities are regulated jointly as securities by the SEC and as futures by the CFTC.
Critics warn that leverage and perpetual funding payments can accelerate losses. Better Markets securities policy director Benjamin Schiffrin told the Journal there is 'the potential for huge losses, especially amongst individual investors,' particularly because traders can take leveraged positions 24/7.