The CFTC has approved Kalshi to offer S&P 500 stock index perpetual futures, putting the prediction market platform in direct competition with CME Group and Cboe Global Markets. The cash-settled contract tracks the MerQube US Large Cap Index and carries no expiration date.
CFTC clears Kalshi's S&P 500 perpetual contract
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved Kalshi to launch S&P 500 stock index perpetual futures, the regulator confirmed. The approval extends Kalshi's perpetual futures lineup beyond crypto and metals into equity indices.
Kalshi filed for a US500PERP contract in August, seeking the CFTC's review. The product tracks the MerQube US Large Cap Index and lets traders take long or short exposure to the S&P 500 through a cash-settled contract with no expiration date. Like existing crypto perpetuals, the contract stays anchored to a reference price through periodic funding payments rather than converging toward a single settlement date.
Kalshi expands into equity markets, challenging CME and Cboe
The move pushes Kalshi, a CFTC-registered designated contract market, directly against futures listed on established exchanges such as CME and Cboe. CME already sued the CFTC over the regulator's decision to let Kalshi and Coinbase list crypto perpetuals, arguing that Bitcoin perpetual futures are swaps rather than futures.
Kalshi has expanded beyond event contracts into perpetual futures this year. The platform already offers 19 crypto perps, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, and recently launched gold and silver perps. It also added Uniswap perpetuals last week and has filed with the CFTC to launch individual stock perps.
Meanwhile, Kalshi has filed with the CFTC to offer margin trading on event contracts, aiming to attract more institutional liquidity. The expansion into traditional markets through perpetual futures has raised challenges and scrutiny.
Source: CoinGape
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