--- title: "Kalshi seeks to launch ‘perps’ on equity indexes as it moves in on traditional exchanges' turf" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296242580.md" description: "Kalshi filed with the CFTC to launch perpetual futures tied to equity indexes, specifically the MerQube U.S. Large Cap Index. This move expands its product line beyond crypto and commodities, aiming to compete with traditional exchanges like CME Group. The filing follows recent approvals for crypto perps and proposals for metals, signaling Kalshi's strategy to become a major multi-asset financial exchange." datetime: "2026-08-18T14:17:21.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296242580.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296242580.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296242580.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Kalshi seeks to launch ‘perps’ on equity indexes as it moves in on traditional exchanges' turf Kalshi logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 3, 2026. Dado Ruvic | Reuters Prediction market platform Kalshi in a regulatory filing on Tuesday revealed it is seeking to launch perpetual futures tied to equity indexes. The filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is the latest move by the company to expand beyond just its prediction markets offerings, which started in late May when Kalshi first received approval for perpetual futures tied to cryptocurrencies. Perpetual futures, colloquially known as "perps," are futures-style contracts where there is no expiration and traders do not need to own the underlying asset. Contracts instead track the price of an asset continuously, with funding payments to keep the contract price aligned with that of the market. Kalshi's "US500" perp, according to the filing, would be tied to the MerQube U.S. Large Cap Index, which tracks the largest 500 companies listed and based in the U.S. Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Kalshi speaks during CNBC's Squawk Box on June 24, 2026. CNBC Last month, Kalshi filed with the CFTC a proposal to launch perps tied to precious metals, like gold and silver. In its filings on Tuesday, the company also sought regulatory approval for perps tied to industrial metal copper. Before Kalshi received regulatory approval a few months ago, perpetual futures were an asset class that was entirely offshore from the U.S. Kalshi said perps had over $90 trillion in global volume in 2025, and within a week of launch the company's own perpetual futures crossed $1 billion in notional volume, CNBC previously reported. Stocks of exchanges like CME Group and CBOE Global Markets fell in early June on the heels of the approval of domestic perps, on worries that the asset could create increased competition for existing players with traditional futures contracts. CME sued the CFTC in federal court over its approval of the asset. Kalshi said it wanted to be seen as a full-fledged, multi-asset financial exchange at a June event launching its perps product. "This is the next step towards building the largest exchange on the planet," Kalshi engineer Lior Hirschfeld said during a presentation. But shares of traditional exchanges were mixed on Tuesday at the open. CME was up by 0.7%, while CBOE was off slightly by 0.5%. *Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.* Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news. ### Related Stocks - [CME.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CME.US.md) - [CBOE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CBOE.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Takes $1.04 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296315705.md) - [ROI-LME gripped by flash squeeze as copper tensions boil over: Andy Home](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296363385.md) - [Kalshi seeks approval to bring crypto-style perps to stocks and copper](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296341816.md) - [Trump to host crypto executives as SEC weighs regulations](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296358805.md) - [Trump's Crypto Comments Cheered: Robinhood CEO Stresses 'Broad Ownership' At White House Event, Binance Founder Says, 'We're So Back'](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296446623.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**