Kalshi filed two product submissions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 18, seeking permission to launch perpetual futures tied to a broad U.S. stock index and copper.
- Kalshi submitted two perpetual futures contracts for voluntary CFTC review and approval on August 18.
- US500 would track MerQube’s index of 500 companies listed and domiciled across the United States.
- COPPERPERP would reference Pyth’s XCU/USD feed and represent one thousand pounds for each full contract.
- Neither product is approved, and Kalshi says listing would occur only after Commission authorization arrives.
- CME’s pending lawsuit argues perpetual contracts are swaps rather than futures under federal derivatives law.
The exchange submitted both products through the voluntary approval process under CFTC Regulation 40.3. Kalshi said it plans to list the contracts shortly after approval, meaning neither product can begin trading based on the filings alone.
The applications extend Kalshi’s perpetual futures expansion beyond digital assets. They also arrive while CME Group challenges the CFTC’s authority to classify no expiry contracts as futures rather than swaps.
Kalshi’s US500 contract would track large companies
The proposed US500 contract would follow the MerQube US Large Cap Index. The index covers 500 of the largest companies listed and domiciled in the United States, weighted by their publicly available market capitalization.
Kalshi’s filing describes the contract as cash settled with no fixed expiration or delivery date. A periodic funding payment between long and short positions would seek to keep its price aligned with the reference index.
One full contract would have a notional value equal to the index level multiplied by $1. A one point index change would therefore change the value of a full contract by $1.
Kalshi proposed a $25 million position accountability level based on mark to market value. It also said it could impose price bands, order limits and position controls to manage erroneous trades, concentration and market disruption.
Kalshi argues that the product falls under the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction because it references a broad securities index. Single stock and narrow index futures generally involve joint SEC and CFTC oversight.
Copper perpetual would use a Pyth price feed
The proposed COPPERPERP contract would track copper’s spot price in U.S. dollars per pound through Pyth Network’s XCU/USD price feed.
Each full contract would represent 1,000 pounds of copper. The minimum trade would be one thousandth of a contract, while a $0.0005 movement per pound would equal a $0.50 change in a full contract’s value.
Kalshi’s second submission proposes continuous trading from 6 p.m. ET on Sunday through 5 p.m. ET on Friday. The contract would remain open during weekday maintenance periods but close over weekends.
The proposal sets a $5 million position accountability level and a maximum position of 25,000 contracts. Kalshi linked the limit to federal rules covering the COMEX copper contract.
If Pyth marks the underlying market as closed or its feed becomes stale, the index would use the last eligible published price. Kalshi said price bands and other risk controls could apply when the reference market is unavailable.
CFTC review does not guarantee approval
The CFTC approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract in May. Its accompanying policy said products referencing other asset classes should receive case by case review because their market structures can differ.
The copper and index products raise questions that were less central to the Bitcoin decision. Copper has established physical and futures markets with fixed trading schedules, while the equity index depends on underlying securities that do not trade continuously.
The regulator could approve the contracts, request changes or reject them if it finds they violate the Commodity Exchange Act or CFTC regulations. The public filings do not provide a launch date or a deadline for the Commission’s decision.
Kalshi has already expanded its regulated digital asset offering. As crypto.news reported, its XRP perpetual rollout followed earlier Bitcoin and Ether contracts.
CME lawsuit could shape Kalshi’s expansion
CME sued the CFTC in June, arguing that perpetual contracts meet the legal definition of swaps under the Dodd Frank Act. The exchange wants a federal court to void the regulator’s May approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin product and the wider perpetuals policy.
The CFTC disputes that position and has called the lawsuit “frivolous.” The case remains unresolved, and no court ruling has invalidated the existing approval route.
Crypto.news examined the central issue in its coverage of the legal fight over perpetual classification. A ruling that perpetuals are swaps could require different trading, clearing, margin and reporting arrangements.
CME replaced its original law firm in July because of what the departing firm described as positional conflicts with other clients, Reuters reported. The change did not end the case.
The CFTC’s decisions on US500 and COPPERPERP will show whether the agency is prepared to extend its perpetual futures framework from crypto into traditional equity and commodity markets while that legal challenge continues.
