CFTC approves first bitcoin perpetual futures contract for Kalshi
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP contract on Thursday, May 29, 2026, clearing the first bitcoin-referenced perpetual futures product on a CFTC-registered prediction market exchange. The contract, submitted under Commission Regulation 40.3 on May 28, 2026, offers leveraged exposure to bitcoin price movements without expiration dates, using funding-rate mechanisms. Traditional futures exchanges had raised retail-risk concerns during a prolonged CFTC Division of Market Oversight review. The approval expands Kalshi beyond binary event contracts into cryptocurrency derivatives. Separate CFTC staff guidance the same day addressed Coinbase access to foreign perpetuals.
Robinhood accounts for the majority of Kalshi's volume. Any shift to leveraged perpetual futures will require fresh clearing agreements or risk fracturing the single-broker flow that already drove a 49.5% volume plunge when sports calendars went light.
Becomes the second CFTC action this week to reshape crypto derivatives access, joining the twin Kalshi-Coinbase approval as Chair Selig advances leveraged products while sidelining the enforcement staff who flagged Polymarket and Crypto.com.