CFTC Clears Equity Perpetual Futures for U.S. Stock Markets for the First Time

Published November 3, 2026, 8:40 PM PKT. Based on CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig's Statement on Equity Perpetual Futures, published November 3, 2026 (primary source), CoinDesk's November 3, 2026 report (secondary source), crypto.news' November 3, 2026 report (secondary source), BeInCrypto's November 3, 2026 report (secondary source), Cboe's October 14, 2026 letter to the SEC (primary source), and Better Markets' November 2, 2026 statement (primary source). This is the first MABOnChain article on the CFTC's equity perpetual futures clearance, and it is distinct from the site's earlier articles on CFTC bitcoin perpetuals and on tokenized-stock venues.

Perpetual futures contracts on individual equity securities can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig said on November 3, 2026. "Today, perpetual futures contracts on individual equity securities (the 'Equity Perps') can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges," Selig said in a statement published by the CFTC in Washington, DC. The contracts were deemed approved by the Commission under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, Selig said, which puts them under the Commodity Exchange Act, U.S. federal securities laws, and the regulatory frameworks of both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission. "I believe that bringing these types of innovative products into our regulated markets ensures that American investors and traders can access these products within the protections of the CFTC's proven regulatory framework, rather than being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues," Selig said.

The deemed approval under Regulation 40.3

Deemed approval is not the same as a signed approval order. Under the CFTC's product review process, a compliant product becomes deemed approved when the applicable review period expires without a notice of non-approval, according to crypto.news, and the initial review period is 45 days, with provisions for extensions. The eligibility bar is narrow: the CFTC's footnote limits the reference to CFTC-registered exchanges to designated contract markets that are dually registered with the SEC as notice-registered national securities exchanges to trade security futures products. In other words, the clearance does not give every exchange, or every platform using the word perpetual, permission to list stock contracts. Selig framed the move as the product of joint work with the SEC, citing a memorandum of understanding the two agencies entered into earlier in 2026 to guide coordination, and quoting SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins' description of security futures and equity perpetual futures as stranded in a regulatory "no man's land" for lack of harmonization between the agencies. "The CFTC and SEC have turned the page on that era," Selig said.

What can trade, and where

A perpetual future, or perp, is a derivative contract that tracks the price of an underlying asset without an expiration date, using recurring funding payments between long and short holders to keep the contract price near the underlying price, and it often uses leverage, which can amplify gains and losses, according to CoinDesk. Perps are a staple of crypto trading, particularly on offshore exchanges and decentralized platforms such as Hyperliquid, and they recorded more than $630 billion in trading volume over the past month, according to DeFiLlama data cited by CoinDesk. The equity version brings that structure to individual stocks, but with a key difference from owning shares: a contract buyer gets price exposure only, with no underlying shares, no dividends, and no voting rights, according to Crypto Coin Show's reading of the filings. Selig's statement did not identify which exchanges would offer equity perps or the stocks available at launch, CoinDesk reported, and no first trade had been reported as of publication. Readers should therefore treat November 3 as the clearance date, not as evidence that any equity perp has yet traded.

Kalshi, Coinbase and Bitnomial filings: margin and hours

Three exchange filings outline the proposed terms, and they were filed ahead of the announcement, according to crypto.news. Kalshi's filing sets a minimum customer margin of 15.50 percent of a position's current market value, so a $10,000 position requires $1,550 in margin, equivalent to about 6.45 times exposure. Its proposed contracts have no preset expiration date, long and short holders exchange funding payments based on the relationship between the perpetual contract and underlying stock prices, and its proposed trading schedule runs from Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time through Friday at 5 p.m., with a daily maintenance break from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., while trading must stop during regulatory halts affecting the underlying security. Kalshi's September 18 filing lists 58 contracts covering 55 stocks, including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Microsoft, plus Alibaba's U.S. shares and two funds tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, according to BeInCrypto, and its stock proposal requires underlying securities to meet thresholds including a $100 billion market capitalization, more than 20 million shares of estimated deliverable supply, and $450 million in average daily trading value over six months, according to crypto.news. Coinbase Derivatives' rule filing covers cash-settled futures on individual stocks and ETF shares, its proposed margin amendments generally require at least 15 percent of current market value, and its September application outlined plans for more than 50 single-stock perpetuals, with a funding rate cap of 0.10 percent per hour in its design, according to crypto.news and Crypto Coin Show. Bitnomial's separate submission proposes a 15.25 percent customer-margin floor for unhedged positions, while allowing clearing firms and intermediaries to require more collateral, according to crypto.news.

The bitcoin precedent from May

Selig linked the equity announcement to the CFTC's May 29, 2026 approval of Kalshi's bitcoin perpetual futures contract, which references bitcoin's spot price and was the first true bitcoin perpetual futures contract on a CFTC-regulated exchange. In a same-day policy statement, the agency said perpetual contracts referencing assets outside that order should undergo case-by-case review because their characteristics vary with the underlying market, according to crypto.news. The administration has made bringing perps markets under U.S. oversight a priority, CoinDesk reported, and President Donald Trump said in August at a White House meeting that the CFTC is working to bring Hyperliquid into the U.S. under federal rules. Wall Street has noticed the same shift: Intercontinental Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange's parent company, announced an October 29 agreement with Trade[XYZ] to establish a dedicated U.S. market and clearing structure for Hyperliquid-based perpetuals, subject to regulatory approvals, with planned markets including equities, crypto, commodities and foreign exchange, according to crypto.news, and ICE recently invested in tradeXYZ, a builder of perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid, according to CoinDesk.

The objections: leverage, ownership, and the 60-day window

The clearance is not uncontested. Cboe challenged the exchanges' approach in an October 14 letter to the SEC, arguing that stock perpetuals should not be treated as security futures, and it urged the SEC to abrogate the proposed rule changes and require standard securities-exchange review, according to crypto.news. Better Markets raised similar objections in a November 2 statement, with Benjamin Schiffrin, its director of securities policy, warning that leverage could rapidly exhaust an investor's deposit, and emphasizing that the contracts do not confer stock ownership rights, according to crypto.news and BeInCrypto. The abrogation risk is written into the filings themselves: Bitnomial's filing states that the SEC may, after consulting the CFTC, abrogate its rule change within 60 days of CFTC approval and require refiling under the standard review process, according to crypto.news. That means the deemed approval could still be unwound in part or in full within two months if the SEC acts, and the first weeks of any trading will run under that shadow. This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Chairman Michael S. Selig, Statement on Equity Perpetual Futures (November 3, 2026, primary source: Equity Perps can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges, deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, subject to the Commodity Exchange Act, federal securities laws, and both the CFTC and SEC frameworks, eligible venues limited to designated contract markets dually registered with the SEC as notice-registered national securities exchanges)
• CoinDesk, CFTC brings crypto-style perpetual futures to U.S. stock markets (November 3, 2026, secondary source: first-time clearance for stock-linked perps on regulated U.S. exchanges, joint CFTC-SEC oversight, no exchanges or stocks named in the statement, perps volume over $630 billion in the past month per DeFiLlama, May bitcoin perpetual precedent, Trump August remarks on Hyperliquid, ICE investment in tradeXYZ)
• crypto.news, Equity perpetual futures get CFTC clearance for US trading (November 3, 2026, secondary source: Kalshi 15.50 percent margin floor and 23-hour weekday trading, Coinbase at least 15 percent margin and more than 50 single-stock perpetuals, Bitnomial 15.25 percent floor, Sunday 6 p.m. to Friday 5 p.m. Eastern schedule, 45-day deemed approval review period, Cboe October 14 letter, Better Markets November 2 statement, 60-day SEC abrogation window, ICE October 29 Trade[XYZ] agreement)
• BeInCrypto, CFTC Just Opened America's Stock Market to Perpetual Futures (November 3, 2026, secondary source: Kalshi September 18 filing lists 58 contracts covering 55 stocks including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Microsoft plus Alibaba U.S. shares and two index funds, 15.5 percent margin, May bitcoin perpetual precedent, Better Markets leverage warning)
• Cboe, October 14, 2026 letter to the SEC (primary source, as reported by crypto.news: stock perpetuals should not be treated as security futures, SEC urged to abrogate the proposed rule changes and require standard securities-exchange review)
• Better Markets, November 2, 2026 statement (primary source, as reported by crypto.news and BeInCrypto: leverage could rapidly exhaust an investor's deposit, contracts do not confer stock ownership rights)