Kalshi and Coinbase are both asking for permission to offer perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks, and Kalshi’s filing to the SEC on Friday came with its own proposal submitted to the CFTC. The move puts two of the biggest names in crypto derivatives into direct competition with each other, and with Payward’s Bitnomial Exchange, which is also chasing the same market.
The CFTC has yet to approve Kalshi’s proposal. In the meantime, Kalshi already offers perpetual futures tied to cryptocurrencies in the US, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP), after receiving CFTC approval for its Bitcoin perpetual contract in May. The company said the new contracts would be treated as security futures products and cleared through its CFTC-registered clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear.
The Three Filings
Kalshi filed its proposal to the SEC on Friday. The same day, Coinbase filed its own proposal to offer perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks. Payward, the parent company of Kraken, filed through its Bitnomial Exchange, with plans for US traders on Kraken.
Payward’s approach is more specific. It plans to initially offer futures tied to 10 US equities: Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. The exchange is working toward 24/5 trading. That lineup of names suggests Payward is targeting some of the most heavily traded stocks in the market.
The filings all follow the same basic template: offer a perpetual contract tied to a single stock, trade it as a security futures product, and clear it through a registered clearinghouse. The difference is which exchange gets to offer it.
What Perpetual Futures Are
A perpetual future is a contract that lets traders speculate on the price of an asset without owning it. The contract never expires, which is why it is called “perpetual.” Traders take positions, buy or sell, and the market keeps running.
For stocks, the contract would track the price of a single company’s shares. A trader who buys the contract is betting the stock will rise; a trader who sells it is betting the stock will fall. The contract is settled in cash, not in shares, so the trader never actually owns any stock.
The contracts would be treated as security futures products under the Commodity Exchange Act. That means the CFTC would be the primary regulator. The contracts would also be cleared through Kalshi Klear, Kalshi’s own CFTC-registered clearinghouse.
The CLARITY Act Failed
The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the US Senate on Sept. 15. The vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed.
The next day, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency would “act decisively” within its existing authority to provide regulatory certainty for American investors and entrepreneurs. That statement was made in response to the filings, and it signals that the SEC is willing to move on this issue without new legislation.
The Risk to Retail Investors
These contracts are complicated. They are not stocks, and they are not options. They are futures contracts that track stocks, settled in cash, traded on an exchange. The risk is not hypothetical.
A retail investor who buys a contract is betting on the price of a single stock. If the price moves against them, they lose money. If the price moves with them, they win. The contract is leveraged, which means a small move can produce a large loss.
The CFTC has not yet approved Kalshi’s proposal for single-stock perpetual futures. The agency has not approved contracts tied to individual stocks before. But Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual contract already received CFTC approval in May.
Where This Goes From Here
The filings are in. The SEC and the CFTC have them. The CLARITY Act is dead. The question is whether the CFTC will approve any of these contracts.
Kalshi and Coinbase have filed their proposals. Payward has filed its proposal. The CFTC has no announced timeline.
The CFTC has the power to approve these contracts, but it does not have to. The agency can reject the proposals. The outcome will determine which exchange gets the first-mover advantage.
The CLARITY Act’s failure means the CFTC will have to decide whether to approve the contracts under its existing authority. That is a heavy lift. The agency will have to weigh the risks to retail investors against the benefits to market liquidity.
The CFTC is likely to take its time. The agency has never approved Kalshi’s proposal for single-stock perpetual futures before. It will want to study the filings and consider the potential risks.
| Exchange | What It Is Offering | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks | CFTC-registered clearinghouse Kalshi Klear |
| Coinbase | Perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks | Filed on the same day as Kalshi |
| Payward (via Bitnomial) | Perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks | 10 initial equities: Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon; working toward 24/5 trading |
The table shows the three exchanges are all pursuing the same product. The filings are separate, but the competition is direct.
The CFTC is likely to take its time. The agency has never approved Kalshi’s proposal for single-stock perpetual futures before. It will want to study the filings and consider the potential risks.
The outcome will determine which exchange gets the first-mover advantage. The CFTC has the power to approve these contracts, but it does not have to. The agency can reject the proposals.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither Kalshi nor Coinbase’s request for permission to offer perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks, and instead backs the small business against both the agency and the giant on this issue, preferring narrow regulation aimed only at the harm from such contracts.
The filings from Kalshi, Coinbase and Payward through its Bitnomial Exchange all follow the same template: offer a perpetual contract tied to a single stock, trade it as a security futures product, and clear it through a registered clearinghouse. The paper’s position holds that such rules raise the cost of entry for small businesses and usually protect the biggest players, which is why it opposes them here.
The CFTC has yet to approve Kalshi’s proposal. Until it does, the paper will watch the agency for any sign it is treating the harm from these contracts, rather than building a rulebook that favors the giants over the small player.
Source material: “Kalshi joins Coinbase with own filing for US stock perpetual futures,” Cointelegraph.
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