According to Woofun AI, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently approved more than 50 indefinite futures deals related to individual stocks applied for by the emerging trading platform Kalshi, covering well-known companies such as McDonald's (MCD.US), Meta (META.US), and SpaceX (SPCX.US).
This regulatory green light directly sparked fierce confrontation on Wall Street, and traditional financial institutions quickly launched a legal counterattack in an attempt to prevent the full spread of this derivatives model originating in the cryptocurrency market in the US stock market.
The core characteristic of indefinite futures is that they have no expiration date, investors can speculate on stock price fluctuations without actually holding shares, and can continue to trade outside of regular stock market trading hours. This mechanism eliminates the cost of replacing contracts when traditional futures are nearing expiration. At the same time, it uses leverage to allow investors to carry out large-scale transactions with less capital, but the risk also increases. The product's trading volume on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid has surged due to oil price fluctuations caused by the Middle East conflict, and now Kalshi has successfully ported it to the US stock market. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour revealed that in less than 24 hours, the product set the record for the most successful new product launch in the company's history.
Data compiled by Woofun AI showed that on Friday morning alone, the product's transaction volume surpassed 300 million US dollars, showing the huge demand for this type of highly leveraged, indefinite derivative.
Faced with this emerging competitor, the capital markets coalition formed by Castle Securities and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE.US) filed a lawsuit against the CFTC to revoke approval. The core of the dispute is legal characterization: traditional institutions argue that individual unlimited futures are not ordinary futures, but rather securities-based swap products, and should therefore be more strictly regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), rather than solely regulated by the CFTC. Craig Donahue, CEO of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, warned that companies continue to provide relevant securities products to ordinary investors outside of the securities regulation system established by Congress, which may damage the credibility of the US capital market. Castle Securities also pointed out that there are huge hidden dangers in introducing new financial products that bypass proven investor protection mechanisms and risk management standards.
However, Kalshi countered that this was essentially a litigation strategy adopted by traditional financial institutions to prevent competition. If individual stock indefinite futures become popular, earnings from traditional options and futures exchanges will shrink drastically, and the profit model of large market makers such as Castle Securities that charge fees by processing individual investors' orders will also be fundamentally impacted.
Notably, there are mixed opinions within Wall Street. DRW founder Don Wilson believes that indefinite futures are an efficient financial instrument that helps with risk management; the New York Stock Exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.US) also said it plans to introduce Hyperliquid-based infinite futures after receiving regulatory approval. Previously, CME Group (CME.US) also sued the CFTC over the approval of digital currency indefinite futures, showing that traditional exchanges continue to challenge regulatory boundaries.
Currently, the court has not accepted an urgent application to immediately stop the transaction, but US District Court Judge Valerie Caproni pointed out that the plaintiff's claim that the CFTC exceeded its authority during the approval process is likely to be adopted in the formal trial. The court has expedited the interim injunction hearing process, and the deadline for the plaintiff to submit additional comments is 10 days. This lawsuit is not only a battle for regulatory jurisdiction, but also a zero-sum game of profit models between traditional financial infrastructure and emerging decentralized trading models. As unlimited futures infiltrate from the crypto market to the traditional stock market, Wall Street's power structure is facing reshaping, and the moat of traditional market makers and exchanges may be completely broken down.