入门 Kalshi and Kraken’s Parent Firm Seek U.S. Approval for Equity-Linked Perpetual Contracts
Quick answer
Kalshi Exchange and Payward — Kraken’s parent company — jointly submitted applications to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list perpetual futures contracts linked to individual U.S. equities. The filing, reported by Panews Lab on 2026-09-20, marks the first known joint regulatory push for equity-perpetuals under U.S. federal oversight. No contract tickers, underlying tickers, margin requirements, or launch timeline were disclosed in the source. This is not a product launch announcement but a formal rulemaking request seeking no-action relief or amended registration.
What assets and markets are directly affected?
U.S. single-stock perpetuals would sit at the intersection of securities law and commodity derivatives regulation. Unlike traditional equity options or futures traded on CBOE or CME, these contracts would settle in cash against NASDAQ or NYSE-listed stocks — but trade on a CFTC-registered designated contract market (DCM), like Kalshi. The proposal targets equities already subject to SEC reporting, excluding OTC or pink-sheet stocks. No list of candidate underlying stocks was published in the source. If approved, the instruments could compete with existing equity-linked crypto derivatives on offshore platforms — but only after full CFTC/SEC coordination, which has no precedent for this structure.
Who stands to gain or face new constraints?
Retail traders in the U.S. would gain exposure to directional equity moves without brokerage accounts, margin calls tied to stock lending, or pattern-day-trading rules — assuming the contracts clear through Kalshi’s DCM infrastructure. Institutional market makers would need to adapt pricing models to incorporate both equity volatility and crypto-style funding rate mechanics. Broker-dealers holding customer funds for such products would face new custody and segregation obligations under SEC Rule 15c3-3, as clarified in a 2024 CFTC staff advisory (CFTC Staff Advisory No. 24-02, issued 2024-03-12). Kraken’s involvement signals strategic alignment between crypto-native infrastructure and legacy equity markets — but Payward holds no current CFTC registration as a swap dealer or FCM, limiting its direct execution role unless it partners with a registered entity.
What remains uncertain — and why does it matter?
The source provides no data on proposed leverage ratios, funding rate calculation methodology, or circuit breaker thresholds. It also omits whether the filing seeks exemption from SEC’s Regulation ATS or proposes integration with FINRA’s TRACE system for trade reporting. These omissions mean market impact assessments remain speculative. The CFTC last rejected a similar proposal from ErisX in 2022 due to insufficient price-discovery safeguards (CFTC Order No. 8572, 2022-08-11). Without public docket numbers or comment deadlines from either agency, the procedural status is unknown. Regulatory silence does not imply endorsement — nor does joint filing guarantee inter-agency alignment.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Are these contracts already live on Kalshi or Kraken? A: No. As of the Panews Lab report dated 2026-09-20, only an application has been submitted to the CFTC and SEC. There is no indication of approval, pilot testing, or beta access.
Q: How does this differ from Binance or Bybit’s stock-token futures? A: Those are unregulated offshore offerings settled in USDT, with no CFTC/SEC oversight, no SIPC protection, and no linkage to official exchange-reported prices. Kalshi/Payward’s proposal seeks fully regulated, USD-settled, CFTC-registered contracts referencing real-time NBBO quotes — a materially higher compliance bar.
Risk warning and disclosure
Crypto derivatives involve substantial risk of loss, including total principal loss. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses. U.S. residents may be prohibited from accessing certain derivative products depending on state law and federal registration status. This article cites only the Panews Lab report dated 2026-09-20; no forward-looking statements or guarantees about regulatory outcomes are made. cryptodlhub receives compensation for referrals to third-party download services via /go/binance-download/. We do not receive compensation from Kalshi, Payward, the CFTC, or the SEC. For deeper analysis of U.S. regulatory frameworks, see our explainer on CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets and our comparison of SEC vs CFTC enforcement priorities. Download the official app via /go/binance-download/.
Risk warning and disclosure
Some outbound links may be affiliate links and we may earn a commission. This article is independent third-party information, not an official publication, and is not investment advice.
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