US Regulators Clear Perpetual Stock Futures for Domestic Exchange Trading

Chairman Michael Selig confirmed the approval on Nov. 3, noting that these instruments will operate under the Commodity Exchange Act and federal securities laws. The decision follows a regulatory review period that permits compliant products to launch on exchanges registered for security futures trading. Exchanges such as Kalshi, Coinbase Derivatives, and Bitnomial are already positioning themselves to host these markets, each proposing specific margin requirements—ranging from 15% to 15.50%—to manage the inherent risks of non-expiring contracts.

Unlike traditional futures, these perpetual products lack a fixed expiration date, relying instead on funding payments between long and short holders to anchor the contract price to the underlying stock. Kalshi’s proposal includes strict eligibility criteria, requiring underlying securities to boast a market capitalization of at least $100 billion. Despite the regulatory green light, the rollout faces friction. Groups including Cboe and the advocacy organization Better Markets have raised objections, questioning the classification of these products and warning that the associated leverage could quickly deplete investor capital. While these exchanges move forward, the SEC retains the authority to abrogate rule changes within 60 days, leaving the final operational landscape subject to potential further scrutiny.