CFTC clears the first US perpetual futures on individual stocks — Kalshi, Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial lined up

On November 3 the CFTC deemed perpetual futures on single stocks approved for CFTC-registered exchanges that are also SEC-registered for security futures. Kalshi, Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial have filed contracts with roughly 15% margin, while Cboe and Better Markets object.

A product that crypto exchanges invented a decade ago is about to be traded on regulated US stock-derivatives venues. On November 3, 2026, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig announced that perpetual futures on individual equity securities — “Equity Perps” — may begin trading in the United States for the first time, according to the CFTC’s statement. It is the biggest expansion of the perpetual format since the agency approved the first bitcoin perpetual contract on May 29, 2026.

What the CFTC actually did

Rather than a new rule, the Commission deemed the contracts approved under Regulation 40.3 as security futures products under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. That classification matters: the contracts sit under the Commodity Exchange Act and federal securities law at the same time, so both the CFTC and the SEC oversee them, coordinating under the memorandum of understanding the two agencies signed in March 2026.

Only a narrow set of venues qualifies. A platform must be a CFTC-designated contract market and also notice-registered with the SEC as a national securities exchange for security futures. Selig framed the decision as giving US participants a regulated alternative “rather than being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues”, and said the two agencies had “turned the page” on years of jurisdictional disputes.

Who filed, and on what terms

The statement named no exchanges, tickers or launch dates, but crypto.news details three September filings:

• Kalshi proposes a minimum customer margin of 15.50% of market value — roughly 6.45x exposure, so a $10,000 position would require $1,550. Contracts have no expiry; funding payments pass between longs and shorts. Eligible stocks would need a $100 billion market cap, more than 20 million shares of estimated deliverable supply and $450 million in average daily trading value over six months. Trading would run from Sunday 6 p.m. to Friday 5 p.m. ET with a daily one-hour break, pausing during regulatory halts.
• Coinbase Derivatives filed cash-settled perpetuals on individual stocks and ETF shares with at least 15% margin; its September application outlined more than 50 single-stock contracts. Coinbase already offers stock perpetuals to eligible customers outside the US.
• Bitnomial set a 15.25% customer-margin floor for unhedged positions, with clearing firms free to demand more.

There is a catch in the process: per Bitnomial’s filing, the SEC may, after consulting the CFTC, abrogate the exchanges’ rule changes within 60 days of approval and require them to be refiled under standard securities-exchange review.

The pushback

Not everyone in traditional finance is applauding. Cboe argued in an October 14 letter that stock perpetuals should not be treated as security futures at all and urged the SEC to use that abrogation power. Better Markets’ director of securities policy, Benjamin Schiffrin, warned on November 2 that leverage could wipe out an investor’s deposit quickly and that the contracts confer no ownership of the underlying shares.

Why crypto is watching

Perpetuals are crypto’s flagship derivative, and the US onshoring push is being driven by venues that grew up on-chain. The Block notes that trading in perpetuals surged over the past year, particularly after a weekend oil shock during US and Israeli strikes on Iran pushed volume to 24/7 on-chain platforms such as Hyperliquid while traditional futures markets were closed. In August, President Trump said he wanted the CFTC to bring Hyperliquid into the US; on October 29, NYSE parent ICE signed a deal with trade[XYZ] to build a US market for Hyperliquid-based perpetuals — a story we covered in ICE’s Hyperliquid perpetuals deal.

The decision also lands as the agency’s broader rulebook for crypto trading takes shape; see our report on the CFTC’s proposed crypto trading rules. For readers newer to how these venues differ, our guide to centralised vs decentralised exchanges explains where on-chain perpetual DEXs fit.

The bottom line

The CFTC has opened the door to US-regulated perpetuals on single stocks, with Kalshi, Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial ready to list at roughly 15% margin — but no launch dates exist yet, the SEC retains a 60-day abrogation window, and incumbents like Cboe are contesting the legal basis. For crypto, the significance is strategic: the format that offshore and on-chain exchanges built is being pulled into the regulated US perimeter, with the agency explicitly citing offshore venues as the problem it wants to solve.

News summary based on the CFTC statement and reporting cited above, current as of November 6, 2026. Margin levels and eligibility criteria are as proposed in exchange filings and may change; verify against the exchanges’ rulebooks and official notices before trading. Leveraged derivatives carry a high risk of loss. For general information only; not financial advice.