Kalshi launches U.S.'s first non-expiration equity index perpetual contract

Core Insights

Kalshi launched its first U.S. equity index perpetual contract. The US500 provides leveraged exposure to long and short equity indices. Applications for single-share perpetual contracts from Apple, Tesla and Nvidia are still pending.

On October 6, Kalshi launched its US500 perpetual contract, marking the expansion of its business from forecasting markets to leveraged equity index trading. The company said the contract provides U.S. traders with long and short exposure to 500 large companies and has no expiration date.

This release expands Kalshi's product range beyond event-based contracts and cryptocurrency perpetual contracts, giving it deeper into the regulated derivatives market. Leverage ratios, margins, funding rates and clearing rules now together shape traders 'risk.

Kalshi launches US500 perpetual trading

Kalshi said its US500 contracts track a market-weighted basket of 500 large U.S. companies. According to Kalshi Pro's October 6 update, Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple have the greatest influence on the index.

The company describes the tool as its first equity index perpetual contract. Traders can leverage to establish long or short positions rather than directly buying the underlying stock.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) records show that the US500 PERP was approved on October 3. Regulators classified the contract as a future contract linked to an equity index.

Kalshi also certified another future contract for the US 500T Equity Index on October 4. Documents show that before the release of the US500, the exchange had expanded its equity-linked derivatives activities.

Kalshi Pro says traders can access the US500 through its perpetual market selector. The update noted that the Fed's decision-making and earnings season could be potential factors driving the index.

The company did not announce a specific US500 leverage limit in the update. This means that position limits and margin requirements are critical for traders to assess the risk characteristics of a product and potential long-term holding costs.

Kalshi transcends the forecasting market

Forecasting markets typically allow traders to hold positions on discrete results with fixed settlement conditions. In contrast, Kalshi's perpetual contracts provide continuous price exposure and do not expire on a predetermined date.

Kalshi Help Center stated that perpetual positions will remain open until traders close their positions or liquidation occurs. Funding payments help align perpetual prices with their reference markets.

This structure brings Kalshi another product category in addition to event contracts. The company had previously launched cryptocurrency perpetual contracts in May and subsequently increased exposure to metals and equity indices.

Kalshi still operates event contracts linked to equity benchmarks. Its S & P 500-hour market settles at fixed times against specified index levels.

而永续产品则在不预设到期日的情况下保持方向性敞口。这将新产品与Kalshi传统的预测市场区分开来。

Kalshi于9月14日发布的研究表明，永续合约用重复的资金支付取代了定期的合约展期。该公司表示，当永续价格偏离参考指数时，资金将在多头和空头之间转移。

这种结构可以减少展期的摩擦，但并不能消除交易成本。Kalshi的费用文档指出，费用适用于名义头寸价值，而资金支付则是单独计算的。

Kalshi股票永续文件指向更广泛的扩张

商品期货交易委员会的记录显示，Kalshi还提交了众多单股永续合约的申请。截至10月6日，这些申请仍处于监管审查之中。

苹果AAPLPERP合约的状态为“待批准（45）”，日期为9月18日。特斯拉TSLAPERP和英伟达NVDAPERP也具有相同的监管状态。

这些待定的合约符合Kalshi向直接股票敞口发展的既定方向。然而，这些文件并未确立最终批准或确认的交易日期。

其他待处理的Kalshi文件涵盖了微软、Meta、亚马逊、Alphabet、Netflix以及几家主要的美国公司。监管机构将大多数此类文件分类为与个股挂钩的证券期货产品。

This difference is important because stock index futures and single stock futures are under different regulatory frameworks. Therefore, the approved US500 PERP does not automatically clear Kalshi's proposed individual stock contracts.

Leverage brings liquidation risk

Perpetual contracts expose traders to risks that go beyond the direction of price. Leverage increases sensitivity to relatively small fluctuations in the underlying market.

Kalshi stated that positions may be liquidated when account equity falls below the applicable margin maintenance threshold. Rapid market fluctuations can also cause execution prices to deviate from expected liquidation levels.

The company currently uses a separate margin system for many perpetual positions. This structure isolates most position-level exposure rather than automatically sharing collateral between unrelated transactions.

However, independent margins do not eliminate the risk of loss. Kalshi warned that extreme conditions could still lead to losses in excess of published margins.

Kalshi's next expansion depends on approval of equity documents

The US500 provides Kalshi with a new regulatory avenue to gain access to U.S. equity index exposure. Its release also shows that the company's derivatives strategy has gone far beyond forecast contracts.

The next big test will be whether regulators will approve Kalshi's application for individual stock sustainability. As of October 6, contracts for Apple, Tesla and Nvidia were still pending.

If approved, Kalshi would enter a more direct form of leveraged trading for individual stocks. Until then, the US500 PERP remained the clearest example of the exchange's equity market expansion.