Kalshi is seeking U.S. regulatory approval to expand its fast-growing perpetual futures business beyond cryptocurrency, filing plans for contracts linked to a large-cap U.S. stock index and copper.
The move would push one of crypto trading’s most distinctive products deeper into traditional financial markets. Perpetual futures have no fixed expiration date and allow traders to take leveraged long or short positions, giving investors a way to speculate on price movements without directly owning the underlying asset.
The proposed products would track the MerQube US Large Cap Index and copper. Kalshi’s filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes less than three months after the regulator approved the company’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract.
Expanding Beyond Crypto
Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual became the first such contract approved by the CFTC for the company in May. The regulator said its approval applied specifically to the Bitcoin product and noted that other perpetual contracts could require separate review.
That decision opened a potential path for Kalshi to bring the structure to additional asset classes. The latest filing shows the company is moving quickly to test that boundary.
Perpetual futures could offer traders greater flexibility than traditional futures because positions do not need to be rolled over when contracts expire. They can also support leveraged trading and two-way positioning, allowing traders to benefit from either rising or falling prices.
However, those features can magnify losses as well as gains.
A Challenge to Traditional Exchanges
Kalshi’s expansion could increase competition with established derivatives venues, which have traditionally offered fixed-expiration futures and options on stocks, indexes and commodities.
The strategy also comes amid a broader regulatory debate over whether perpetual contracts should receive futures treatment or face rules associated with swaps. That dispute has intensified as U.S. regulators and major exchanges assess how crypto-style derivatives fit within existing market structures.
For Kalshi, the stock-index and copper filings represent a significant test of whether the perpetual model can move from crypto markets into mainstream finance. If approved, the products could give U.S. traders another regulated route to leveraged exposure across major markets.
