CFTC Allows Equity Perpetual Futures on Individual Stocks to Trade on US Exchanges

BSCN·2026-11-03 14:42:00 UTC

The CFTC, working with the SEC, has cleared perpetual futures on individual stocks to trade on dual-registered US exchanges for the first time, extending perps beyond crypto.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has cleared perpetual futures contracts on individual stocks to trade on US exchanges for the first time. The move follows closer coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by @CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and @SECGov Chairman Paul Atkins (@SECPaulSAtkins).

Selig announced the change on November 3. The contracts can begin trading on designated contract markets that are also registered with the SEC as notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures products. Selig calls the products "Equity Perps."

How the Equity Perps Framework Works

Selig said the contracts were deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products. That approval falls under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which means the contracts are subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and the relevant securities laws. The CFMA created a joint CFTC-SEC regime for security futures products, and the two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on March 11 to coordinate rulemaking and enforcement.

Perpetual futures differ from conventional futures because they do not expire. Perpetuals rely on a periodic funding rate mechanism to keep their price aligned with the underlying asset. While 24/7 trading is not inherent to perpetuals, it is a common feature, particularly where the underlying trades around the clock. Whether individual venues will offer round-the-clock trading in equity perps has not been confirmed in the CFTC statement.

Selig said the agencies had previously left such products in limbo. He repeated Atkins' description of a regulatory "no man's land" caused by a lack of harmonization between the agencies. Selig said the move would bring equity perpetual futures into the US regulatory system, giving traders access without relying on offshore and potentially unregulated platforms.

Extension of the Bitcoin Perpetuals Decision

The decision builds on earlier steps. The CFTC approved the first US-listed bitcoin perpetual, Kalshi's BTCPERP, on May 29. Selig described the equity contracts as an extension of that decision beyond digital commodities and into traditional securities. He had directed the CFTC on January 29, 2026 to use its authorities to onshore perpetual derivatives, subject to appropriate safeguards.

The product remains contested by some incumbents. CME Group's chief executive, Terry Duffy, sued the CFTC in June over its approval of bitcoin perps on Kalshi, arguing the instrument should be classified as swaps rather than futures. The CFTC has called the suit "frivolous."

Law firm Proskauer has noted that regulated perpetual contracts may encourage broader participation by institutions that have been unwilling or unable to access offshore venues because of legal, compliance, governance or counterparty-risk concerns. The CFTC statement does not put a figure on the trading volume it expects to return to US clearinghouses.