Kalshi is moving into CME Group’s core equity-index territory while CME Group is already suing the regulator over the contract structure making that challenge possible.
The prediction-market firm is seeking regulatory clearance to extend its perpetual-futures model into major U.S. stock indexes. According to Reuters, the company submitted equity-index contracts to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on August 18, including products tied to benchmarks such as the S&P 500.
Rather than expiring on a quarterly schedule like conventional index futures, the proposed contracts could remain open indefinitely, giving investors a new way to maintain directional market exposure through Kalshi’s platform.
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Kalshi also filed for copper perpetuals, according to Reuters.
The no-expiry part connects to CME’s benchmark E-mini S&P 500 futures that expire on a quarterly cycle, requiring traders seeking continuous exposure to close or roll positions into later contracts. A perpetual contract can remain open indefinitely, subject to margin requirements, funding payments, and liquidation risk.
Kalshi already has a regulatory foothold for the structure. On May 29, the CFTC approved KalshiEX’s bitcoin perpetual contract as a futures contract. The agency cautioned that the perpetual design may not work for every asset class and encouraged exchanges seeking perps on other assets to submit them for Commission review.
CME then sued the CFTC in June, arguing that perpetual contracts should be regulated as swaps under Dodd-Frank rather than futures and that the regulator acted unlawfully in approving Kalshi’s bitcoin product.
The CFTC called the lawsuit frivolous and the federal case remains listed as ongoing.
The equity-index filing therefore pushes the dispute beyond crypto into one of CME’s established franchises. CME already lists E-mini and Micro E-mini contracts tied to the S&P 500. Kalshi is proposing a structurally different way to maintain leveraged index exposure without quarterly contract rollovers.
Kalshi would also avoid a second federal regulator for qualifying broad-market contracts. The CFTC states that futures on broad-based security indexes fall under its exclusive jurisdiction, unlike single-stock and narrow-based index futures, which are jointly regulated with the SEC.
Approval of Kalshi’s new contracts has not been announced.
