Tesla and Strategy stock perpetual futures go live on KuCoin exchange
Traders can now gain exposure to price fluctuations of both companies' equities through USDt-settled derivatives contracts that operate 24/7, eliminating the need for direct stock ownership.
Cryptocurrency exchange platform KuCoin has introduced equity-linked perpetual derivative products connected to shares from Tesla and Strategy, enabling market participants to gain exposure to stock price fluctuations via USDt-settled instruments that operate continuously day and night.
Based on an announcement made on Friday, the initial offerings comprise TSLAUSDT and MSTRUSDT perpetual futures contracts, designed to mirror the price action of the respective equities without providing actual ownership rights to the shares themselves. These financial instruments function as synthetic derivatives that settle using stablecoins.
These perpetual contracts feature no set expiry date and are available for continuous trading activity. Market participants can establish positions starting from as low as 1 USDt (USDT), which reduces the barrier to entry for those looking to gain exposure to equity-linked price action via a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
As stated by KuCoin, the offering employs a pricing mechanism engineered to follow underlying stock benchmarks while factoring in the distinctions between conventional equity market operating hours and the non-stop trading nature of cryptocurrency derivatives marketplaces.
The company noted that availability of these contracts might face limitations in certain jurisdictions based on applicable local regulatory frameworks.
Established in 2017, KuCoin reports that its trading platform caters to over 40 million registered users spanning more than 200 nations and provides access to over 1,000 different digital tokens for trading purposes. Based on CoinMarketCap statistics, the platform currently holds the eighth position by spot market trading volume.
MicroStrategy, which underwent a corporate rebranding to become Strategy in February 2025, presently holds the position as the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, maintaining 738,731 BTC in its treasury reserves. Tesla maintains its position as the 12th-largest publicly traded company by Bitcoin holdings, possessing 11,509 BTC.
Fintechs and exchanges move to tokenize stocks
The marketplace for tokenized equity products has experienced significant expansion since early 2025. According to information from RWA.xyz, tokenized stock instruments currently represent a combined market capitalization of approximately $1.03 billion, reflecting substantial growth from roughly $291 million recorded on Jan. 1, 2025.
This sector's expansion is being propelled by a diverse array of participants including financial technology firms, cryptocurrency trading platforms, and conventional brokerage services.
During October, Robinhood broadened its tokenization program on the Arbitrum blockchain network, incorporating 80 additional stock tokens and elevating the complete count of tokenized instruments available on its platform to approximately 500.
In June, more than 60 tokenized stocks became available on Kraken and Bybit following the launch of Backed Finance's xStocks product. Last month, Kraken launched tokenized equity perpetual futures on its regulated derivatives platform, allowing eligible non-US clients to trade 24/7 leveraged exposure to major US stock indexes, gold and companies including Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple.
Established financial exchanges are equally investigating this innovation. During January, the New York Stock Exchange revealed plans to build a trading infrastructure for tokenized equities and exchange-traded funds featuring round-the-clock trading capabilities and immediate settlement processes, pending regulatory authorization.
In September, Nasdaq filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval to list tokenized stocks. It has since partnered with Payward, Kraken's parent company, and its subsidiary, Backed Finance, to develop an equities tokenization gateway. The platform is expected to begin offering services to issuers in the first half of 2027.