Kalshi Seeks Approval for Stock-Linked Perpetual Futures
Kalshi, a New York-based derivatives exchange, is pushing into uncharted territory by seeking regulatory approval for perpetual futures contracts on individual stocks. The company plans to file with both the CFTC and SEC to list perpetual futures contracts on some of the largest names in the market: Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia.
The proposed contracts would be similar to those found on crypto exchanges like Binance and Bybit but applied to equities. Each contract would represent 100 shares with a minimum margin requirement of roughly 15% of the notional value. The underlying stocks would need a minimum market cap of $100B and an average daily trading volume of at least $450M.
Kalshi has already received CFTC approval for Bitcoin perpetual contracts in May 2026, and its crypto perpetual futures have reportedly generated tens of billions in notional volume. However, the listing of equity perpetual futures is not without controversy, with Citadel Securities raising concerns that it could create a parallel shadow market.