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Judge lets Kalshi stock perps trade, says CFTC likely lacked authority to approve them

A federal judge refused an emergency halt on 3 November but found the challengers likely to win. A request for a preliminary injunction is still pending and could stop trading later.

November 3, 2026 · Effective · Verified 2026-11-06 via official docs

US District Judge Valerie Caproni denied a temporary restraining order on 3 November 2026 that would have stayed the CFTC's approvals of single-stock perpetual contracts from KalshiEX, Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial. She also found that the challenger, the Capital Markets Alliance Association, is likely to succeed on its claim that the CFTC lacks authority to allow these contracts for retail investors.

The order says the contracts do not appear to be security futures because they have no sale for future delivery, and that they appear instead to be swaps, which the SEC regulates. It also finds that the balance of equities and the public interest favor the challengers. The request failed on one test: the supporting declarations were "conjectural" about harm to the group's members, so they did not show the irreparable harm a restraining order requires.

The order leaves the approvals in place and does not decide the case. The CFTC's response to the preliminary injunction request is due 6 November and the group's reply 10 November; the assigned judge can change that schedule. The docket showed no CFTC response when DexSheet checked early on 6 November. A 4 November docket notice assigns the case to Judge Lorna G. Schofield. The order dates the suit 2 November; the docket dates the complaint 3 November. Cboe's statement says the alliance includes Cboe, Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association.

Kalshi is the only exchange we have confirmed is listing these contracts. It started with Qualcomm, McDonald's, Amgen and Costco at up to 4.9x leverage; Kalshi said on 5 November that it now offers perps on over 50 companies. If an injunction is granted, those contracts could be halted, and the requested relief would also bar the CFTC from giving effect to the Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial approvals, Gaming America reports. The order does not address Kalshi's crypto, commodity or index perps.

“Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the CFTC’s action in approving the trading of single stock perpetual derivatives as security futures exceeded its statutory authority.”

— Judge Valerie Caproni, order of 3 November 2026

Who this affects

Traders holding or considering Kalshi's stock perps, who could see them halted if an injunction is granted. Kalshi's prediction markets are not part of this case.

Kalshi at a glance

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