Stocks without expiry: the CFTC opens the door to perpetual futures

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on November 3, 2026, cleared the way for trading perpetual futures on individual stocks on regulated US exchanges. The so-called “Equity Perps” bring a mechanism familiar from crypto to the stock market, under joint oversight by the CFTC and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but also draw pushback over leverage and their legal classification.

What did the CFTC approve for stock perpetual futures?

The contracts were deemed approved under Regulation 40.3, which provides a 45-day review period for new products. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig classified them as security futures, triggering the joint framework of the two regulators.

So not just any platform can offer them. They require the relevant CFTC designation as a regulated market and the required SEC registration for these products. The announcement does not name an exchange, specific contracts or a start date. A regulatory green light is one thing; when each market will actually launch is another.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, the move follows the approval of Kalshi’s BTCPERP bitcoin perpetual on May 29. The same platform added gold and silver perpetuals in September.

How do stock contracts without expiry work?

Perpetual futures give exposure to a stock’s price with no set expiration date and without buying the stock itself. The holder gets no dividends or voting rights, as Better Markets points out.

To keep the contract price close to the underlying stock, periodic funding payments are exchanged between buyers and sellers. In the design filed by Coinbase Derivatives, when the contract trades above the stock, buyers pay sellers, at a rate of up to 0.10% per hour.

Think of it as a position with no return date, but one that can carry an ongoing cost of staying in. “No expiry” doesn’t mean “no cost.”

As BeInCrypto reports, Kalshi’s September 18 filing includes 58 contracts: 55 stocks, among them Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Microsoft, Alibaba’s US-listed shares and two funds that track the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100. The planned trading hours run from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, US Eastern Time.

Where does the leverage risk lie?

Leverage allows greater exposure than the capital a trader puts up, but it also accelerates losses. BeInCrypto reports that Kalshi’s design allows a position with an initial margin of 15.5% of its value.

Better Markets warns of automatic liquidations during sharp drops. In its example, a 20% decline wipes out the capital of a position with 5x leverage. The position can therefore be forcibly closed long before its holder decides they want out.

Why is the approval drawing legal challenges?

The legal dispute also concerns whether these products are really futures at all. CME Group has already sued the CFTC over the approval of crypto perpetuals, arguing that the exchange of funding payments makes them swaps. The case is pending.

In later coverage on November 3, Crypto Briefing also reported a lawsuit by a group backed by Cboe and Citadel against the approval of stock perpetuals, with no further details in the available report.

What does it mean for the market and for Greek readers?

This development brings offshore market products into a regulated US environment, but not automatically to Greek investors. The sources don’t mention access terms for residents of Greece.

We see it as a positive that there are margin, clearing and oversight rules around such contracts. But we don’t confuse oversight with protection from losses. The real test will be whether activity actually moves to regulated markets and how their mechanisms hold up when volatility rises.