CFTC Approves Perpetual Futures on Individual US Stocks for First Time

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved equity perpetual futures on individual US stocks on November 3, 2026, clearing the products to trade on dual-registered US exchanges for the first time. The decision marks a major regulatory shift that brings a derivative structure long dominant in crypto markets into mainstream US equity trading.

The approval follows months of filings from multiple firms seeking to enter the space. Coinbase Derivatives filed with the CFTC in September 2026 to list perpetual futures on roughly 50 to 60 stocks, including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia, using a cash-settled, no-expiration contract structure that would trade Sunday through Friday. Kalshi, Kraken parent Payward and OG.com, spun out of Crypto.com, each filed separately for similar products. ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, had also announced plans for a dedicated venue called ICE[XYZ] with Trade[XYZ] that would offer 24/7 perpetual futures on stocks, commodities and crypto, pending regulatory sign-off.

The broader regulatory path was opened earlier in 2026 when CFTC Chairman Mike Selig, a Trump appointee confirmed in December 2025 and a stated advocate for bringing perpetual futures onshore, approved Bitcoin perpetual futures for Kalshi, making it the first US firm to receive such clearance. That earlier approval sent exchange stocks tumbling on fears that a new wave of perpetual futures products could intensify competition for incumbent trading venues. Critics of the newly approved equity contracts have pointed specifically to the leverage embedded in perpetual futures structures as a source of risk for retail investors.