CFTC clears single-stock perpetual futures; four applicants seen as first to list

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has approved perpetual futures tied to individual stocks, according to a post on X by Bankless founder David Hoffman. He said four exchanges that had already submitted related applications are expected to list the products.

Hoffman named the four venues as KalshiEX LLC, Coinbase Derivatives, Bitnomial (Kraken), and Nadex/OG.com (Crypto.com).

Four exchanges already meet the stated requirements

According to Hoffman, all four exchanges share the same set of qualifications:

• They are registered with the CFTC as exchanges.
• They hold designated contract market, or DCM, status, and trades are cleared through a registered derivatives clearing organization, or DCO.
• They are also registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.
• They had previously submitted listing approval applications for stock perpetual contracts.

Lighter may become the fifth applicant

Hoffman also said Lighter is set to submit an application to the CFTC this month. He said it is likely to become the fifth exchange on the list and the only decentralized derivatives exchange among them.

First listing of single-stock perpetuals on regulated U.S. venues

An earlier update said the CFTC had approved perpetual contracts linked to U.S. individual stocks, allowing such products to be listed and traded on regulated U.S. exchanges for the first time. That would allow U.S. investors to trade single-stock perpetuals through regulated markets and extend the overlap between traditional equity markets and crypto derivatives.