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 | ReutersPrediction 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. CNBCLast 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 a...