Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael S. Selig said stock-linked perpetual futures can enter U.S. trading under federal rules, opening a domestic route for a product whose regulator filings still show mixed statuses.
In a Nov. 3 statement, Selig said the contracts had reached deemed-approval status under CFTC Regulation 40.3 as security futures products. Eligible venues must be designated contract markets registered with the CFTC and notice-registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as national securities exchanges for trading security futures products.
For a compliant product submission, Regulation 40.3 sets an initial 45-day review. Certain conditions allow up to 45 additional days; the product receives deemed approval if the CFTC does not issue a notice of non-approval by the applicable deadline.
The CFTC’s public database lists KalshiEX LLC’s AAPLPERP and TSLAPERP as approved, with Nov. 2, 2026, dates. It lists KalshiEX’s ABBVPERP and Coinbase Derivatives LLC’s “Single Stock Perpetual Futures Contract” as “Approval Pending (45).” Selig named no first exchange or launch time, and his statement did not say trading had begun.
KalshiEX’s SEC filing describes contracts with no preset expiration. Long and short holders make recurring funding transfers intended to narrow the gap between a contract’s price and the underlying stock price at daily settlement.
In an Oct. 14 SEC comment, Cboe Global Markets, Inc. argued that stock perpetuals do not qualify as security futures products. Cboe asked the SEC to abrogate and disapprove the proposed rule changes; those are Cboe’s arguments, not an SEC finding. A Coinbase Derivatives filing says the SEC may, after consulting the CFTC, summarily abrogate an exchange rule change within 60 days of its effective date, requiring a new filing.
Selig said the domestic route could give traders access to CFTC protections instead of offshore venues, which he described as often unregulated. SEC Trading and Markets Division Director Jamie Selway said on Oct. 14 that he expected at least four exchanges to begin trading securities perpetuals in the fourth quarter of 2026.
