Kalshi launched single-stock perpetual futures on over 50 U.S. equities and ETFs, becoming the first regulated platform to offer the derivative onshore. The launch followed a November 3 statement from CFTC Chairman Michael Selig clearing the product under joint CFTC and SEC oversight. Co-founder Luana Lopes Lara reported that early trading volume surpassed $300 million after a quiet rollout. The move brings a market previously dominated by $4.5 trillion in annual offshore volume into the U.S.
Launch volume and development timeline
- ▪Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara disclosed that the company's single-stock perpetual contracts were more than a year in the making prior to launch
- ▪Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara announced on November 5, 2026, that early trading volume for single-stock perps exceeded $300 million following a quiet stealth rollout
Product features and mechanics
- ▪Kalshi launched single-stock perpetual futures on over 50 NYSE and Nasdaq-listed equities and ETFs, becoming the first company to offer them
- ▪Kalshi's single-stock perpetual contracts allow traders to go long or short on stocks like Palantir, Meta, and McDonald's without expiry dates or rollover fees
- ▪Kalshi charges direct trading fees and avoids payment for order flow, operating its own clearing entity named Kalshi Klear LLC for all single-stock perps contracts
- ▪Each Kalshi single-stock perpetual contract represents 0.02 shares, with positions using daily funding payments settled at 4:00 PM ET and leverage starting around 4.9x
Regulatory timeline and CFTC approval
- ▪Kalshi filed its single-stock perps application on September 18, 2026, gaining automatic approval when the CFTC's 45-day review window closed on November 2, 2026
- ▪CFTC Chairman Michael Selig issued a statement on November 3, 2026, clearing perpetual futures on single equities to trade on CFTC-registered exchanges as joint CFTC-SEC security futures
Company expansion and valuation
- ▪Kalshi expanded into equity perpetual futures after previously launching bitcoin perps in May 2026 and gold and silver perps in September 2026
- ▪Kalshi raised $1 billion in recent funding, bringing the prediction market platform to a valuation of $40 billion
Offshore volume and regulatory context
- ▪CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that clearing single-stock perps gives U.S. traders an onshore option rather than forcing them onto unregulated offshore venues
- ▪Prior to Kalshi's launch, single-stock perpetual futures traded exclusively on offshore venues, generating more than $4.5 trillion in annual transaction volume outside U.S. regulatory oversight
Story comments
Loading comments…