Coinbase and Kalshi announced on May 29 that they will introduce the perpetual crypto futures, making them available to U.S. investors by regulated domestic exchanges.
The perpetual futures or known as “perps,” are derivative market contracts with no specific timeframe, enabling traders to hold unlimited positions without rolling over contracts. Perps also deliver high leverages of up to 50-to-1, which allows investors to have an increase in market exposure.
Kalshi reported that perpetual Bitcoin futures trading was officially introduced on June 3. The perpetual Bitcoin feature is associated with the spot Bitcoin price, with transaction fees temporarily free.
Moreover, Kalshi issued an order for product listings approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) dated May 29. The approval positions Kalshi as the first regulated exchange to list true perpetual futures without a given timeframe, in compliance with the core principle of the Commodity Exchange Act and the Designated Contract Market.
In support, Michael Selig noted that the approval is an essential step toward President Trump’s plan to develop the United States as a hub of cryptocurrency.
The perpetuals show a major increase for Kalshi of about $1 billion in a Series F in May and approximately $22 billion valuation. The company’s annualized trading volume increased from $52 billion to $178 billion across the six months before the Series F, with institutional trading volume rising 800% during the time. Additionally, Kalshi’s valuation increased from $2 billion in June 2025 to $22 billion in May 2026.
According to a CoinPost report, perpetual futures have increased its largest trading products in the cryptocurrency market linked with trading volume projected at about $61.7 trillion by 2025, an increase of 29% on a year-on-year basis.
At present, offshore systems such as Binance and Hyperliquid have been influencing the crypto derivatives market in the United States; however, no domestically regulated products had previously been identified.
Conversely, Karsi addresses this gap by introducing the country’s first regulatory-compliant perpetual futures market. Also, Karsi targets to increase the range of its offering to more than ten cryptocurrencies, subject to regulatory approval.
Kraken has reported plans to list a regulatory-compliant Perpetual within 30 days of approval. Meanwhile, Robinhood and Gemini have also increased their interest in participating in the market.
Based on MLQ report, Kalshi and Coinbase are simultaneously entering the U.S. regulated perpetuals market. Both companies compete with developed offshore systems that delivers greater liquidity, a broad scope of assets, and higher leverage levels than those authorized under U.S. regulatory system.
Furthermore, Polymarket is reportedly testing perpetual futures trading and is projected to launch the product to the public in the upcoming weeks.
Kalshi’s Next Plan
Kalshi’s aiming to obtain CFTC approval for each cryptocurrency perpetual; contract over its preliminary Bitcoin listing. The company has noted plans to back over a dozen cryptocurrencies but has not reported a particular deadline or list of assets.
Kalshi’s strategic plan is straightforward where the projected markets remain restricted in size, while crypto perpetuals influence digital asset trading. If the product is successfully launched, it would lead Karshi into a multi-asset derivatives exchange competing with CME Group and Coinbase.
