Stock Perpetual Futures Can Now List on U.S. Exchanges, CFTC Says
Perpetual futures on individual stocks can begin trading for the first time on designated contract markets (DCMs), which are federally licensed U.S. derivatives exchanges. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said so on November 3, 2026. The agency issued a statement from Chairman Selig under the heading "CFTC Chairman Selig Releases Statement on Equity Perpetual Futures", and it uses the shorthand "Equity Perps" for these contracts.
A perpetual future has no expiry date, unlike a standard futures contract that settles on a set day. It stays close to its underlying index through a funding rate, a periodic payment between long holders (buyers) and short holders (sellers) that moves with the gap between the contract price and the index. Coinbase describes perpetual-style futures as cash-settled contracts with funding rates that keep futures prices aligned with underlying indexes. Cash settlement means no shares change hands. Gains and losses are paid in cash, so the structure gives traders synthetic exposure without owning the stock.
The regulatory path has been building for months. On October 5, the CFTC issued a no-action letter, a staff statement that it will not take enforcement action over a stated activity, for DCMs that want to convert existing perpetual-style broad-based security index futures into true perpetual futures. Coinbase Derivatives, LLC has said it plans to list cash-settled futures on individual equity securities and exchange-traded fund shares, including perpetual single-stock futures, under a notice of filing published in the Federal Register on September 23. Coinbase had also filed registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer equity perpetuals, as Reuters reported on September 3. Kalshi filed with the CFTC to launch equity index perpetuals, according to Reuters, which reported the filing on August 18.
Coinbase already offers a version of this product elsewhere. Its stock perpetual futures, launched in March, provide leveraged, synthetic exposure to publicly listed U.S. stocks and trade around the clock. The Coinbase International Exchange lists more than 180 perpetual futures, including stock perpetuals. Coinbase and Kalshi also announced in May that they would introduce perpetual crypto futures for U.S. investors, a launch that was described as the first time such instruments would be available to U.S. investors.
For ordinary savers, the practical question is who can access these contracts and on what terms. Leverage deserves the most attention. Margin, the deposit a trader posts to hold a position, can sit far below the cash value of the stock it tracks. A small adverse move can therefore produce a large loss relative to the capital posted. Funding payments add a second cost that does not exist in a cash equity position, and they can flip direction when the market is crowded on one side. Traders moving from listed equities should also know that a 24/7 contract can price news that the cash market does not see until the next session opens. These are mechanics, not forecasts, and they apply whatever the contract's listing venue.
In my view, the more important shift is where the product sits. Single-stock exposure through perpetuals has been available offshore for some months. A DCM listing would bring the same structure under CFTC oversight of the exchange and its clearing arrangements, and that is the change the November 3 statement opens. The contracts are not yet trading on that basis. The CFTC has said they can, and several firms have spent the past year positioning to list them.
Watch three things: which DCMs list the first equity perpetuals, how wide their margin requirements are set, and how funding rates behave when a single name gaps on earnings. Those details will tell experienced desks more than the announcement itself.
