Kalshi seeks US approval for single-stock perpetual futures on Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia

Kalshi, the New York-based derivatives exchange that built its name on prediction markets, is pushing into territory that will make both Wall Street and crypto traders pay attention. The company plans to file for regulatory approval to list perpetual futures contracts on individual stocks, starting with some of the largest names in the market: Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia.

Perpetual futures, or “perps,” have been the bread and butter of crypto exchanges like Binance and Bybit for years. Kalshi wants to take a product born in crypto markets and apply it to the most liquid equities on Earth.

What Kalshi is actually proposing

The filing, expected to land at both the CFTC and SEC, would cover around 60 stock- and ETF-linked perpetual futures products. Each contract would represent 100 shares, with a minimum margin requirement of roughly 15% of the notional value.

To qualify for listing, underlying stocks would need a minimum market cap of $100B and an average daily trading volume of at least $450M. That effectively limits the initial universe to mega-cap names.

The contracts would trade 23 hours a day, five days a week, and settle in cash with no physical delivery. Unlike standard futures, perpetual contracts have no expiration date. Traders hold positions indefinitely, with periodic funding rate payments keeping the contract price anchored to the underlying asset.

Building on regulatory momentum

Kalshi received CFTC approval for Bitcoin perpetual contracts back in May 2026, and just recently launched gold and silver perps in September 2026. Its crypto perpetual futures have reportedly generated tens of billions in notional volume.

Because equities are securities, these contracts fall under the jurisdiction of both the CFTC and the SEC. Single-stock futures were technically legal in the US after the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, but the product category largely failed to gain traction, partly because of the cumbersome joint oversight structure.

Not everyone is cheering

CME Group filed a lawsuit against the CFTC in June 2026 claiming that the agency improperly approved perpetual futures contracts.

Citadel Securities has raised concerns that equity perpetual futures could create a parallel shadow market, potentially creating compliance blind spots around issues like insider trading, position reporting, and investor protection.

Kalshi is also eyeing expansion into agricultural commodity perpetual futures, adding to its existing copper and equity-index perps, with WTI crude oil reportedly on the wish list as well.

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