The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved Kalshi’s BTCPERP perpetual futures contract on May 29, creating a regulated onshore avenue for a product that's historically been dominated by offshore exchanges. Kalshi, best known for prediction markets, says it's the first company in American history to offer perpetuals and plans to add them on more than a dozen other crypto currencies in the coming weeks.
A market that's been stuck offshore
Perpetuals are the backbone of crypto trading — roughly $85.3 trillion in volume changed hands globally in 2025. But that activity has almost entirely bypassed US-regulated venues, flowing through platforms like Binance, Bybit, and dYdX. The CFTC approval gives institutions and retail traders a way to trade perps with the protections of a regulated futures commission merchant, without giving up the 24/7 nature of the product.
Large market-makers have already started trading on prediction-market venues, a sign that liquidity profiles are improving. That matters because perps rely on deep order books to keep funding rates stable.
What's different about Kalshi's perps
Kalshi's existing business is binary event contracts — yes/no bets on economic data, elections, weather. Perpetuals introduce a whole new layer of complexity. Traders will need to understand funding rates, margining, and liquidation rules that replace the simplicity of a binary payout. For a platform built around clean outcomes, the mechanics of a perpetual swap — where positions can be held indefinitely with periodic funding payments — is a big shift.
The exchange will have to manage margin calls and liquidations in real time, something it hasn't done at scale. Kalshi hasn't published detailed specs on initial margin or maintenance requirements yet, but those will be critical for traders sizing up the product.
CFTC's guidance on perpetuals
Alongside the approval, the CFTC published staff guidance on categorizing certain crypto perpetuals as foreign futures and on accommodating 24/7 trading and clearing. That suggests the agency is trying to build a framework that other applicants could use, not just a one-off for Kalshi. The guidance doesn't address every open question — how to handle cross-margining between perps and spot positions, for instance — but it's a starting point.
The timing isn't accidental. With regulators in other jurisdictions tightening rules on offshore crypto exchanges, US-based venues are pushing for a piece of the perps market. Whether Kalshi can attract enough volume to compete with the incumbents is the open question.
Kalshi will roll out BTCPERP in the coming days, with other currencies following. The exchange hasn't said which ones, but Bitcoin and Ether are the obvious starting points. For traders used to offshore leverage, the real test will be whether Kalshi's liquidity — and its risk engine — can survive the first major volatility event.
