Kalshi Files for Perpetual Futures on 58 US Stocks and ETFs

Kalshi has filed proposed rules for perpetual security futures covering 58 U.S. stocks and ETFs, according to a Sept. 18 submission the company lodged with both the SEC and the CFTC. Trading has not started, and the contracts remain unavailable while CFTC approval is pending.

How the proposed contract would work

Kalshi proposes a new Chapter 14 in its rulebook for contracts that track an underlying equity security with no pre-set expiration. Long and short holders would exchange periodic funding payments set by the gap between the perp and the underlying stock. That funding flow is meant to pull the contract price back toward the equity's spot price, the same anchoring mechanism crypto perps rely on. Contracts would settle in cash.

Where the regulators sit

The SEC published filing SR-KALSHIEX-2026-02 on Sept. 18, opening a public comment process on new listing standards for perpetual security futures. The SEC notice says Kalshi submitted the same rule change to the CFTC the same day, and the CFTC's product database lists the single-stock perpetual filings as awaiting approval. The filing is procedural, not a launch.

Kalshi has one prior data point in this category. The CFTC approved its Bitcoin perpetual contract on May 29, classifying it as a futures contract after reviewing the design. The regulator also said perpetual design may not suit every asset class, leaving equity-linked contracts to separate review.

The pushback on Kalshi's bid

In a Sept. 9 comment letter on equity-linked derivatives, Citadel Securities argued that moving these products outside the SEC framework could fragment cross-market oversight and create a "parallel shadow market" tied to U.S. equities. The firm pointed to investor protections covering execution quality, trading access and coordinated halts, and urged regulators to clarify how perpetual equity products should be classified. Citadel's comments predated Kalshi's Sept. 18 filing.

What this filing does not say

The Sept. 18 notice does not name the 58 underlying tickers. It does not address retail access mechanics: account type, leverage caps, margin rules. No date is given for when the CFTC may act. Other single-stock perpetual products in the market, including Hyperliquid's BVIV line and Coinbase's pending filing, were not confirmed in this reporting. The Kalshi filing extends a structure popular in crypto into U.S. equities, where regulators already divide oversight between securities and derivatives markets, but it leaves most of the operational detail for a later rulemaking cycle.