Equity Perps Explained: What the CFTC's Green Light Changes

Futures that never expire on individual stocks have been a big thing overseas and mostly a "not here, pal" in the US. That changed on November 3, 2026. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig announced that equity perpetual futures, or equity perps, can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges. So what actually changed, and what should regular investors know before getting excited?

• What's new: perpetual futures on individual stocks are allowed on qualifying US exchanges for the first time.
• Legal route: deemed approved under CFTC Regulation 40.3 as security futures products.
• Who oversees them: both the CFTC and the SEC, under a framework from 2000.
• Still unknown: CoinDesk reports the statement didn't name the exchanges or the stocks available at launch.

What Are Equity Perpetual Futures?

A regular futures contract has an end date, and when it nears, traders either settle or roll into a new one. A perp skips the end date, so you can hold your position indefinitely. To keep the contract's price close to the real asset's price, traders on one side make periodic "funding rate" payments to the other side, as law firm Proskauer explains in its write-up of this year's bitcoin perp approval.

An equity perp applies that idea to an individual stock. You get price exposure without owning the shares and without the hassle of rolling a contract every few months. The format has been a hit in crypto: CoinDesk cites DeFiLlama data showing over $630 billion in perp volume over the past month.

What Did the CFTC Actually Approve?

Here's the fine print, and it matters. Selig's statement says these contracts were deemed approved by the Commission as security futures products under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. They can trade on designated contract markets that are also registered with the SEC as notice-registered national securities exchanges for security futures. That's a narrower set of venues than "any US exchange."

The contracts have to follow the Commodity Exchange Act, federal securities laws and the rules of both agencies. In his statement, Selig also pointed to a memorandum of understanding the CFTC and SEC signed in March to coordinate oversight.

This builds on earlier steps this year. The CFTC approved Kalshi's bitcoin perpetual contract on May 29, and it issued a no-action letter on broad-based index futures in October. We have also seen perpetual-style equity index futures from Coinbase. Going from indexes to single stocks is the new leap.

When Can You Trade Equity Perps?

The honest answer is that we don't know yet. The CFTC says these can begin trading, but neither the agency's statement nor CoinDesk's report gives a launch list. Your broker's support also isn't a given, since a contract being legal doesn't automatically put it in your app. So watch for exchange announcements on which stocks, what contract sizes, what funding schedule and which hours.

What Should Investors Know About the Risks?

I'm not your financial advisor, but a few points apply to pretty much everyone:

• Leverage cuts both ways. Perps have been the go-to vehicle for leveraged trading in crypto, and leverage magnifies losses as well as gains.
• Funding is a running cost. Unlike owning a share, holding a perp can mean recurring payments, which add up on a long hold.
• You don't own the stock. Expect no voting rights, and don't assume dividends work the way they do for shares until the contract terms say so.
• Single stocks can gap. One earnings report can move a single name far more than an index.

The upside is real too: a venue under US oversight, rather than offshore platforms, and potentially simpler long-term exposure for traders who currently roll contracts. If you're curious, start by reading the contract specs when they arrive. And if plain old shares do the job for you, there's no prize for adding complexity.

Selig calls this a significant step toward giving US participants access to tools used for risk management and price discovery. Actual liquidity and tight spreads are what will determine whether traders agree. Follow our stock trading coverage for those launch details as they land.

Sources: CFTC, Statement of Chairman Selig — November 3, 2026; CFTC Release 9319-26 — November 3, 2026; CoinDesk — November 3, 2026; Proskauer — 2026.