The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said equity perpetual futures, contracts tied to individual stocks with no expiration date, can now trade on CFTC-registered U.S. exchanges for the first time. These leveraged instruments have long been popular in crypto markets but were largely unavailable to U.S. traders until now. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig framed the move as part of a push to bring perpetual products onshore, following the agency's earlier clearance of Bitcoin perpetual futures for Kalshi this year. The stock contracts fall under joint CFTC and SEC oversight under a memorandum of understanding signed in March. Selig argued that regulated U.S. venues offer protections that offshore, often unregulated platforms lack.
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