Kalshi files for perpetual futures tied to US stocks, joins Coinbase in race to bring crypto-native trading to equities

Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market turned derivatives platform, has filed proposals to offer perpetual futures contracts tied to individual US stocks and ETFs. The filing, submitted around September 18, 2026, would bring a trading instrument born in crypto markets to the world of traditional equities. Coinbase Derivatives dropped its own CFTC filing on the same date, seeking approval for nearly identical products. What’s actually being proposed Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are derivatives contracts that never expire. Unlike traditional futures that settle on a specific date, perps use periodic funding payments to keep their price tethered to the underlying asset. Kalshi’s proposed contracts would be cash-settled, meaning no shares change hands at any point. They would track up to 58 large-cap US stocks and ETFs, all with market capitalizations north of $100B. Names like Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvidia are on the list. The contracts would carry minimum margins of around 15.5% and would not confer any ownership rights or dividend entitlements. Kalshi plans to clear these products through Kalshi Klear, its own CFTC-registered clearinghouse, using its existing central l...