📅 03 November 2026 • CFTC, SDNY docket
Equity Perps Open for Trading on CFTC-Registered Exchanges as an SDNY Challenge Lands the Same Day
On 03 Nov, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig announced in press release PR 9319-26 that perpetual futures on individual stocks — Equity Perps — “can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges.” Per Bloomberg, Kalshi listed several contracts the same day, turning single-stock perps into a live product category.
Deemed approval under Regulation 40.3
The contracts are deemed approved pursuant to Commission Regulation 40.3 as security futures products under the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. They remain simultaneously subject to the Commodity Exchange Act, to federal securities laws, and to oversight by the CFTC and the SEC. Per the release footnote, a CFTC-registered exchange is a designated contract market dually registered with the SEC as a notice-registered national securities exchange.
The move builds on the CFTC-SEC MOU of 11 Mar 2026 (Release 9192-26) and on the KalshiEX BTC perpetual order of 29 May 2026, the precedent that established the deemed-approval route. Chairman Selig quoted SEC Chairman Paul Atkins on moving out of the regulatory “no man’s land.”
Same-day APA suit in SDNY
Also on 03 Nov, Capital Markets Alliance Association filed suit in the Southern District of New York, case 1:26-cv-09608, before Judge Valerie E. Caproni, on Administrative Procedure Act grounds. CMA members include Cboe Global Markets, Citadel Securities and Healthy Markets Association. Defendants are the CFTC and Chairman Selig personally, not the SEC. Cboe CEO Craig Donohue framed the suit as defending a framework that has protected markets for more than nine decades.
The action targets the Stock Perpetual Approvals of applications filed 18 Sep 2026 by KalshiEX LLC, Coinbase Derivatives LLC and Bitnomial Exchange LLC. The 45-day period expired 02 Nov without a rejection, so the products became deemed approved. CMA seeks vacatur of the approvals, a declaration that the products are security-based swaps under exclusive SEC jurisdiction, and a TRO plus preliminary and permanent injunctions.
TRO denied, merits question open
In an order entered the evening of 03 Nov (ECF No. 11), Judge Caproni denied the TRO, finding irreparable harm not shown at this stage. The court nevertheless wrote that plaintiff is “likely to succeed on the merits”: the perps “do not appear to satisfy the definition of a security future” under 7 U.S.C. § 1a(44), absent future delivery, and “appear to satisfy the definition of a swap” within SEC jurisdiction. Balance of equities and public interest were found to favor plaintiff.
The CFTC response on the preliminary injunction is due 06 Nov. Trading status stands, but the category now sits between an executed approval and an unresolved merits finding.
IMPACT
• Exchanges and platforms — equity-perp listings can continue, but the 06 Nov CFTC filing and any follow-on orders can change product status on short notice.
• Compliance teams — revisit classification files, disclosures and client documentation, since the court’s written view on security futures versus swaps may drive reclassification.
• Cross-regulatory oversight — dual CFTC-SEC touchpoints mean monitoring both agencies, including any SEC positioning on security-based swap claims.
• Timelines — track the preliminary-injunction briefing and the SDNY docket, plus any further Regulation 40.3 deemed approvals.
• Risks — listing suspensions, margin and clearing adjustments, and divergence between live trading and litigation outcomes.
Sources:
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9319-26
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/seligstatement110326
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75062269/capital-markets-alliance-association-v-commodity-futures-trading/
https://ir.cboe.com/news/news-details/2026/Cboe-Joins-Capital-Markets-Alliance-Challenge-to-CFTC-Approval-of-Single-Stock-Perpetual-Derivatives/default.aspx
https://www.marketscreener.com/news/cboe-citadel-backed-group-sues-us-regulator-over-single-stock-perps-ce785fdedd8af32d
https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-03/trading-on-us-stock-perpetuals-contracts-is-approved-by-cftc
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