Kalshi wants 24/7 Tesla and Nvidia perps as Wall Street fights over who regulates them

Prediction-market platform Kalshi is mounting a direct challenge to traditional equity market structure by seeking regulatory permission to offer 24/7 perpetual futures contracts on roughly 60 single stocks and exchange-traded funds. Among the marquee offerings in the pipeline are perpetual contracts—or "perps"—for retail darlings Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. The move marks an ambitious attempt to translate crypto’s most lucrative trading mechanism into the heavily regulated world of U.S. equities, effectively merging continuous crypto-style trading hours with traditional corporate assets. Perpetual futures, which allow traders to hold leveraged directional bets indefinitely without the expiration dates typical of standard futures contracts, have generated trillions of dollars in trading volume across offshore crypto exchanges. Historically, U.S. retail investors have had limited access to perps due to strict domestic oversight. By proposing these instruments under the supervision of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Kalshi is attempting to institutionalize a product that has long operated on the regulatory fringes. Demand for round-the-clock exposure to volatile mega-cap tech stocks has escalated alongside global market fragmentation, making 24/7 trading a logical, albeit controversial, next step. The initiative reopens a contentious jurisdictional turf war between Washington’s primary financial regulators. While Kalshi operates as a CFTC-regulated designated contract market, equity-based financial products typically fall under the stern purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Pushing synthetic, non-expiring equity contracts through CFTC channels tests the legal definition of swap agreements and event contracts. Wall Street’s incumbent exchanges, alongside SEC leadership, are likely to view Kalshi’s expansion as an aggressive end-run around traditional equity disclosure rules and market architecture, setting up a high-stakes standoff over who gets to govern the future of retail derivatives. If approved, Kalshi’s perpetual equity contracts could permanently alter how retail capital interacts with public companies. Continuous pricing models eliminate the traditional market-open gap, altering risk management strategies for market makers and hedge funds alike. However, introducing leveraged, non-stop trading to high-beta stocks carries significant systemic considerations, particularly regarding thin liquidity during off-hours and the potential for cascading liquidations. Beyond the immediate policy hurdles, Kalshi’s play signals a fundamental shift: the line separating decentralized crypto trading infrastructure from mainstream Wall Street finance is rapidly dissolving, forcing regulators to adapt or risk losing control of modern market innovation.