Key Highlights
- Payward, parent company of Kraken, has filed to offer single-stock perpetual futures on 10 major U.S. equities including Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, with plans for 24/5 trading access.
- The contracts would be listed on Bitnomial Exchange under its rules, while onchain perpetual futures would be offered through Hyperliquid to eligible U.S. clients, both subject to regulatory approval.
- Kraken already operates CFTC-regulated crypto perpetual futures for U.S. clients and tokenized-equity perpetuals for non-U.S. clients, but no launch date has been announced for the new single-stock products.
Payward Files for Single-Stock Perpetual Futures on Kraken
Payward Inc., the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has submitted a regulatory filing to introduce single-stock perpetual futures contracts for eligible U.S. traders, marking a significant expansion of its derivatives offerings beyond digital assets. The filing, which was publicly disclosed on September 18, 2026, covers ten major U.S. equities: Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Broadcom (AVGO), Micron Technology (MU), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and SPCX.
Extended Trading Hours and Market Structure
A central component of the proposal is the pursuit of 24/5 trading, allowing market participants to respond to price-moving events outside traditional exchange hours. “Stock markets close, and the events that move them don’t,” Payward said on X. The company said traders could respond to market-moving news outside regular hours. The perpetual futures structure—contracts with no expiration date that track the underlying asset price through a funding mechanism—would enable continuous leveraged exposure to individual equities.
Regulatory Pathway and Partnership Framework
Under the proposed framework, Bitnomial Exchange would list the contracts under its own rules, subject to approval from relevant regulators. Separately, Payward plans to offer onchain perpetual futures through Hyperliquid to eligible U.S. clients, blending centralized exchange infrastructure with decentralized trading venues. The filing does not specify a launch timeline, and Payward has not provided a launch date. Any debut would be contingent on securing necessary regulatory clearances.
Kraken’s Existing Derivatives Footprint
The move builds on Kraken’s established derivatives business. In June, the exchange launched CFTC-regulated cryptocurrency perpetual futures for eligible U.S. clients, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other major digital assets. Outside the United States, Kraken already offers tokenized-equity perpetual futures that provide continuous trading and leverage on stocks such as Nvidia, Apple, and Tesla. The new filing would bring a similar single-stock perpetual product to the domestic market, aligning with a broader industry trend: Coinbase has also filed for more than 50 single-stock perpetual futures, while the New York Stock Exchange is exploring 24/7 onchain trading through a new alternative trading system.
Why This Matters
The filing signals a growing convergence between traditional equity markets and crypto-native derivatives infrastructure. Perpetual futures have become the dominant derivatives format in digital asset markets due to their capital efficiency and 24/7 availability. Extending this model to individual U.S. stocks—listed on a CFTC-regulated venue like Bitnomial and accessible onchain via Hyperliquid—could reshape how both retail and institutional participants manage equity exposure, particularly around earnings announcements, macroeconomic data releases, and geopolitical developments that occur outside regular trading hours. Regulatory approval remains the critical gating factor; the CFTC and SEC have historically scrutinized single-stock futures and crypto-linked equity products closely, and the outcome of this filing may set precedent for similar offerings from Coinbase and other platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks are included in Payward’s single-stock perpetual futures filing?
The filing covers ten U.S. equities: Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Broadcom (AVGO), Micron Technology (MU), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and SPCX.
When will these perpetual futures be available for trading?
Payward has not announced a launch date. The products require regulatory approval before they can be offered to U.S. clients.
How do these contracts differ from Kraken’s existing derivatives products?
Kraken currently offers CFTC-regulated crypto perpetual futures (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana) to eligible U.S. clients and tokenized-equity perpetual futures to non-U.S. clients. The new filing seeks to bring single-stock perpetual futures on individual U.S. equities to the domestic market for the first time, with 24/5 trading via Bitnomial Exchange and onchain access through Hyperliquid.