Perpetual futures, the most popular trading instrument in crypto, now have a legal US front door. Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market platform, has launched the first perpetual futures contracts available to American investors, starting with Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin perpetual contract, trading under the ticker BTCPERP, went live on June 3, 2026. Kalshi plans to roll out contracts on over a dozen additional cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin, pending regulatory approvals.
What Are Perpetual Futures?
Think of a perpetual future as a bet on the price of an asset that never expires. Traditional futures have a settlement date; perpetuals skip that, allowing traders to hold positions indefinitely as long as they can cover their margin.
Offshore perpetual futures trading volume exceeded $90 trillion annually as of 2026, up from $28 trillion in 2023. Kalshi’s launch changes the dynamic: US investors now have a regulated venue for this trading.
Kalshi's Strategic Pivot
CEO Tarek Mansour called perpetual futures “the purest form of trading.” Kalshi is offering zero trading fees on these contracts during the initial launch period. The company, known for prediction markets on elections and weather, now directly competes with offshore crypto exchanges.
The Competitive Landscape
Kalshi’s main offshore rival is Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange offering deep liquidity without KYC. Kalshi operates under full CFTC oversight, requiring KYC and compliance. This is a burden but a key selling point for institutional investors-pension funds, endowments, family offices-that cannot use unregulated platforms.
The risk: perpetual futures allow leveraged trading in a volatile asset class. A regulated venue adds guardrails but doesn’t eliminate the risk of spectacular losses.