Kalshi has submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval to offer perpetual futures contracts on XRP and other major cryptocurrencies. If the SEC signs off, the move would bring a popular but largely offshore crypto derivatives product into the U.S. regulatory framework.
What the proposal covers
Perpetual futures are contracts that let traders speculate on an asset's price without an expiration date. They settle against a funding rate that keeps the contract price anchored to the spot market. Kalshi's filing asks the SEC to allow listing of these contracts for XRP and what it calls “other major cryptocurrency assets.” No specific tokens beyond XRP were named in the public details.
Kalshi has been best known as a regulated exchange for event-based prediction markets — contracts tied to economic data, election outcomes, and policy changes. The perpetual futures proposal marks a shift into traditional crypto derivatives, an arena currently dominated by exchanges like Binance and Bybit, which operate outside SEC oversight.
Why XRP matters
XRP is one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap and has been at the center of regulatory debates. The SEC's past actions against Ripple created uncertainty around the token's status. Including XRP in the proposal signals that Kalshi believes the token can now be treated like other commodities or securities for derivative purposes — or that it wants the SEC to make that determination.
The filing does not disclose contract specifications like margin requirements or settlement mechanics. Those details would likely come if the SEC opens a public comment period.
What happens next
The SEC now has to decide whether to approve, reject, or request changes to the proposal. The agency can take months to review new derivative products, especially ones tied to crypto assets. No public timeline has been set. For now, Kalshi's plan is a filing — not a product.
