American traders have for the first time gained the ability to trade perpetual futures on individual stocks on regulated US venues. On Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved the launch of such contracts — previously, access to them was available exclusively on foreign exchanges.
The key nuance is leverage. The Kalshi platform, one of those that filed for listing, allows opening a position in a stock by posting only 15.5% of its value. A financial reform group in Washington is already warning: in a sharp market decline, such positions will be forcibly closed.
How perpetual stock futures work
Classic futures expire on a set date. Perpetual contracts have no expiration date — a position can be held as long as there is enough margin in the account. Regular contract payments keep the price close to the stock's market value. In the model filed by Coinbase Derivatives, the buyer pays the seller if the contract price is above the stock — the rate reaches 0.10% per hour.
Kalshi's September 18 filing lists 58 contracts, including 55 stocks — Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Microsoft — as well as American depositary receipts for Alibaba and two funds tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. Trading runs from Sunday evening to Friday day, Eastern Time US. Traders gain access exclusively to price dynamics — without rights to the shares, dividends or voting rights.
Reasons for CFTC clearance
The contracts received so-called "silent approval" under Regulation 40.3: a product is deemed approved if the CFTC does not prohibit the issuance within 45 days. As Commission Chairman Michael Selig noted, such instruments fall under the definition of security futures and are also regulated by the SEC. Listing is possible only on exchanges that are simultaneously registered with the SEC and authorized to trade such products. The decision followed the May approval of a perpetual bitcoin future on Kalshi.
Trader risks
Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy at Better Markets, noted: on foreign venues, perpetual futures on individual stocks offer leverage of up to 20x, whereas SEC-approved exchange-traded funds are limited to 2x leverage. American perpetual futures may allow leverage of up to 6x. If the price falls by 20%, a position with 5x leverage is fully liquidated.
Major players are resisting. CME Group has already sued the CFTC over the approval of perpetual cryptocurrency contracts. Intercontinental Exchange, which operates the New York Stock Exchange, plans to launch US futures trading 24/7 on the Hyperliquid platform. The first trading volumes of the new contracts will show whether foreign demand returns to the domestic market.
Cryptalist analysis: The CFTC approval marks a tectonic shift in the structure of the US derivatives market: the crypto industry is effectively exporting the perpetual contract model into traditional finance. However, the combination of high leverage and the absence of rights to the underlying asset creates systemic risk during volatile sell-offs, and the legal confrontation with CME points to inevitable regulatory battles. Institutional investors should assess these instruments as a speculative segment with an elevated liquidation risk profile.