Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Kalshi has filed with the CFTC to list perpetual futures tracking a US large-cap equity index and copper.
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The proposed US500 contract would follow the MerQube US Large Cap Index.
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Kalshi’s COPPERPERP contract would reference copper’s spot price through Pyth Network’s XCU-USD feed.
Kalshi has filed plans with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to introduce perpetual futures linked to a US equity index and the price of copper.
The proposed contracts would expand Kalshi’s derivatives business beyond prediction markets and cryptocurrency products as the company seeks to establish itself as a broader financial exchange.
According to a Tuesday filing, Kalshi intends to offer a product called the US500 Contract. The perpetual future would track the MerQube US Large Cap Index, a broad securities benchmark measuring the performance of the 500 largest companies listed and based in the United States.
Kalshi separately filed to introduce a perpetual futures contract tied to copper, one of the world’s most widely traded industrial metals.
US500 Contract Would Track Large US Companies
Kalshi’s proposed US500 Contract would give traders exposure to changes in the value of the MerQube US Large Cap Index without requiring them to purchase the underlying stocks.
The benchmark covers 500 of the largest US-listed and US-based companies, providing broad exposure to the American equity market.
The filing indicates that Kalshi wants to move into an area traditionally dominated by established futures and securities exchanges. Equity-index derivatives are widely used by investors to hedge portfolios, manage risk, and speculate on broader market movements.
Unlike conventional futures, the US500 Contract would not have a predetermined expiration date. Traders could maintain positions for as long as margin requirements and other contractual conditions are met.
The proposed COPPERPERP Contract would track the spot price of copper, quoted in US dollars per pound.
Kalshi plans to reference the Pyth Network XCU-USD price feed when determining the contract’s underlying value. Pyth is a blockchain-based oracle network that supplies financial-market data to trading platforms and decentralized applications.
Copper is commonly viewed as an indicator of global industrial activity because of its widespread use in construction, manufacturing, electrical equipment and energy infrastructure.
A perpetual contract would allow Kalshi users to speculate on copper’s price movements without taking ownership or physical delivery of the metal.
Kalshi had not provided additional information about the proposed products at the time of publication.
Perpetual Futures Have No Expiration Date
Perpetual futures, commonly known as perps, are derivatives that allow traders to bet on an asset’s future price without owning it directly.
Unlike traditional futures contracts, perps do not expire on a fixed date. The products typically use funding payments or similar mechanisms to keep their prices aligned with the underlying spot market.
Perpetual futures have become popular in cryptocurrency markets because they enable traders to maintain leveraged positions indefinitely. However, their availability in the regulated US market has historically been limited.
Kalshi’s latest filings indicate that the company wants to expand the model beyond digital assets into equities and commodities.
The filings follow the CFTC’s decision in late May to allow Kalshi to list a perpetual contract tied to Bitcoin’s price.
The approval opened the door for regulated perpetual futures to trade in the United States for the first time. Coinbase also received permission to move forward with similar products.
The CFTC’s decision quickly faced opposition from CME Group. In June, the derivatives exchange sued the regulator, alleging that it violated the Commodity Exchange Act when approving the initial products for Kalshi and Coinbase.
CME argued that the perpetual contracts would compete directly with its existing derivatives offerings and claimed the regulator had abruptly changed its approach to such products.
The outcome of that case could influence how quickly Kalshi and other platforms expand perpetual futures across US financial markets.
