Kalshi has launched a US500 perpetual futures contract tracking the MerQube US Large Cap Index, giving traders leveraged long or short exposure to 500 large American companies with no fixed expiry date. The CFTC approved the product less than two months after Kalshi filed for it, and the contract had already logged over $500,000 in trading volume within its first day.
No Expiry, Daily Funding Instead
Kalshi received CFTC approval for its US500 perpetual future and opened it for trading, expanding its perpetual futures lineup beyond crypto and metals into equities. The cash-settled contract references the MerQube US Large Cap Index, which covers the 500 largest US-listed and US-domiciled companies by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
Unlike dated futures, the product carries no fixed expiration, so traders skip the quarterly rollovers that conventional index futures require. Daily funding payments between long and short positions keep the contract's price aligned with the index instead. Kalshi sets the funding rate at 4 p.m. on each index business day, using price differences recorded while it calculates the benchmark. Each contract carries a multiplier of $1 per index point, and fractional positions as small as one ten-thousandth of a contract are allowed.
The contract trades from 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday until 5 p.m. on Friday, though the underlying index updates only during regular US equity trading hours. Outside that window, the contract continues trading against the last published index level. Trades clear centrally through Kalshi Klear under a risk-based margin model.
Volume Tops Half a Million on Day One
At the time of publication, the market page showed $556,000 in 24-hour volume and $219,600 in open interest, with available leverage at 15.3 times — figures that can shift as trading develops. According to CoinGape: CEO Tarek Mansour said, "Stock market exposure is the next step towards Kalshi becoming a full-service financial exchange."
Kalshi is not alone in offering perpetual exposure to the US equity market. Trade[XYZ] provides eligible non-US clients with a Hyperliquid-based perpetual referencing the licensed S&P 500 Index, while Binance and Bybit offer SPYUSDT perpetuals that track the SPDR S&P 500 ETF rather than the index itself. Kalshi's version instead offers US clients regulated, synthetic exposure: holders receive no dividends, voting rights, or other shareholder entitlements, since the contract references the index's price-return version.
More Derivatives on the Way
Kalshi filed for the US500PERP contract with the CFTC in August, following its earlier expansion into crypto and metals perpetuals. The company has also prepared plans for a West Texas Intermediate crude oil perpetual contract and has experimented with products tied to specific US stocks, which would likewise allow leveraged long or short positions without holding the underlying shares.
That pipeline signals Kalshi's broader shift away from prediction markets on elections and sports toward a wider trading platform built around perpetual futures spanning equities, energy, and single names.
Sources: CoinGape, Finance Magnates
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
