Kalshi lists first Bitcoin perpetual futures as 3 rivals seek CFTC nod

The CFTC has approved the first Bitcoin perpetual futures contract on a US-regulated exchange, bringing crypto's dominant leverage product onshore for the first time.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the first Bitcoin perpetual futures contract on a US-regulated exchange, pulling a product that has driven most of crypto's offshore trading volume under federal oversight for the first time. The contract, listed by Kalshi, marks the first time a perpetual swap-style derivative has been authorized for US retail and institutional investors through a regulated venue.

"This is not a minor product launch but a recalibration of how leverage and speculation interact with federal oversight," said Diana Chen, a regulatory analyst at Edgen who tracks exchange compliance. "Perpetual swaps were the last major offshore product category to get an onshore home."

The approval comes as Bitcoin trades near $62,000, down 32.9% year to date and 52% below its October peak of $126,080, according to Bitwise Asset Management's Q3 2026 Crypto Market Review. US spot Bitcoin ETPs bled $4.9 billion in Q2, their worst quarter since launching in January 2024, the report showed. Despite the selloff, spot ETPs and public companies have together bought roughly 3.6 times the Bitcoin mined since the ETFs debuted — about 1.55 million BTC of demand against 455,416 BTC of new supply, Bitwise said.

The decision opens a new front in the battle between traditional exchanges and decentralized platforms for derivatives market share. CME Group sued the CFTC in June over the agency's authority to approve crypto perpetual futures, arguing the regulator exceeded its powers under the Commodity Exchange Act. ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher has called for a "level playing field" that would allow regulated exchanges to offer 24/7 onchain perpetual futures, saying existing regulations prevent traditional firms from competing with platforms such as Hyperliquid.

A product born offshore comes home

Perpetual futures — contracts with no expiration date that use a funding rate mechanism to track spot prices — have been the dominant crypto derivative product since BitMEX popularized them in 2016. Offshore exchanges including Binance, Bybit, and OKX built multi-billion-dollar businesses around the product, while US investors were largely walled off from accessing them through regulated channels.

The CFTC's approval changes that calculus. Kalshi, a regulated exchange that previously focused on event contracts, will now offer Bitcoin perpetuals under the same regulatory framework that governs traditional futures and options. The product structure allows traders to take leveraged long or short positions on Bitcoin without the roll costs associated with standard futures contracts.

The approval also pressures other exchanges to move quickly. CME has continued expanding its regulated crypto derivatives business, announcing futures tied to Avalanche and Sui, launching CFTC-regulated Bitcoin volatility futures, and introducing the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures — a market-cap weighted contract tracking seven digital assets. ICE has held exploratory discussions with Hyperliquid to understand how onchain derivatives markets operate, Sprecher disclosed.

Regulatory clarity remains fragmented

The approval arrives amid competing regulatory signals. Phantom and the Hyperliquid Policy Center sent a letter to the CFTC in July asking the agency to clarify that blockchain protocol developers and non-custodial wallet providers should not be treated like traditional financial intermediaries. The groups argued that registration requirements should apply to entities that handle customer funds or execute trades, rather than to developers who create blockchain software without controlling how it is used.

The letter warned that the alternative to adopting clearer rules is a status quo in which "American users continue to be walled off from onchain derivatives markets," while innovation continues offshore. The CFTC has not yet responded to the request.

For investors, the key question is whether the onshore perpetual futures market will draw volume away from offshore venues or simply expand the total addressable market. CME's lawsuit against the CFTC, scheduled for later this year, could determine how aggressively the agency can approve similar products from other exchanges. At least three other venues are believed to be preparing applications for their own Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts, people familiar with the matter have said.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.