Key Takeaways
- • Equity perpetual futures ("Equity Perps") can begin trading on U.S. CFTC-registered exchanges for the first time on November 3, 2026, extending the instrument beyond digital commodities into individual stocks.
- • CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the contracts will operate under both CFTC and SEC oversight, with the CFTC treating them as security futures products under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.
- • Venues offering the contracts must be CFTC-registered designated contract markets and also hold SEC registration as notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures trading.
- • The approval follows the CFTC's May 29, 2026 order approving KalshiEX LLC's BTCPERP bitcoin perpetual futures contract, the first such product on a CFTC-regulated exchange.
- • Selig framed the move as giving U.S. participants regulated access to perpetual contracts for hedging and price discovery, rather than pushing them toward offshore venues.
Summary
Equity perpetual futures can begin trading on U.S. CFTC-registered exchanges for the first time on November 3, 2026, according to The Cryptonomist. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the contracts, known as Equity Perps, will operate under both CFTC and SEC oversight. The permission covers contracts on individual equity securities traded on designated contract markets registered with the CFTC. Those venues must also hold SEC registration as notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures trading, and the dual registration is part of the framework Selig described rather than blanket permission for any U.S. venue.
Under Commission Regulation 40.3, the CFTC approved Equity Perps as security futures products in line with the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. That classification places the contracts within both agencies' frameworks, with the Commodity Exchange Act applying alongside U.S. federal securities laws. The CFTC and SEC signed a memorandum of understanding on March 11, 2026 to guide their coordination, which Selig said underpins the Equity Perps approval.
Selig presented the decision as a response to regulatory uncertainty that had kept innovative security futures products from reaching the market. He cited SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins' description of a regulatory "no man's land" for such products and said the agencies were working to provide clarity and a route to market instead of letting jurisdictional disputes block them. Selig also argued that bringing perpetual derivatives into U.S. regulated markets lets American investors and traders use them within the CFTC's investor-protection framework, rather than relying on offshore venues that are often unregulated.
The equity decision follows the CFTC's earlier approval of the first bitcoin perpetual futures contract on a CFTC-regulated exchange. In remarks on January 29, 2026, Selig directed the agency to use its available tools toward bringing perpetual derivatives onshore, and the order approving KalshiEX LLC's BTCPERP futures contract was dated May 29, 2026.
Under Commission Regulation 40.3, the CFTC approved Equity Perps as security futures products in line with the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. That classification places the contracts within both agencies' frameworks, with the Commodity Exchange Act applying alongside U.S. federal securities laws. The CFTC and SEC signed a memorandum of understanding on March 11, 2026 to guide their coordination, which Selig said underpins the Equity Perps approval.
Selig presented the decision as a response to regulatory uncertainty that had kept innovative security futures products from reaching the market. He cited SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins' description of a regulatory "no man's land" for such products and said the agencies were working to provide clarity and a route to market instead of letting jurisdictional disputes block them. Selig also argued that bringing perpetual derivatives into U.S. regulated markets lets American investors and traders use them within the CFTC's investor-protection framework, rather than relying on offshore venues that are often unregulated.
The equity decision follows the CFTC's earlier approval of the first bitcoin perpetual futures contract on a CFTC-regulated exchange. In remarks on January 29, 2026, Selig directed the agency to use its available tools toward bringing perpetual derivatives onshore, and the order approving KalshiEX LLC's BTCPERP futures contract was dated May 29, 2026.
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