Kalshi Files for Perpetual Futures on US Stock Index and Copper

Kalshi has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to launch perpetual futures contracts tied to a major equity index and copper, continuing its push to expand from a prediction market into a broader financial exchange. According to Tuesday’s filing, the company plans to offer a “US500 Contract” tracking the MerQube US Large Cap Index, which measures the performance of the 500 largest US-listed companies.

Copper Contract Also in the Works

In a separate filing, Kalshi proposed a “COPPERPERP Contract,” a perpetual futures product tracking the spot price of copper in US dollars per pound, referencing the Pyth Network’s price feed. Perpetual futures, unlike standard futures, have no fixed expiration date and let investors speculate on price movement without owning the underlying asset.

Follows Earlier Bitcoin Perpetual Approval

These filings come after the CFTC approved Kalshi’s bitcoin linked perpetual futures contract in late May, marking the first time such products were allowed to trade in the US. That approval has already drawn legal pushback, with CME Group suing the CFTC in June, arguing the agency violated the Commodity Exchange Act by approving perpetual futures for Kalshi and Coinbase, claiming the products would directly compete with and harm its own derivatives business.