Kalshi to file for US crude oil perpetual contract, source says
Kalshi is preparing to file a perpetual West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract with U.S. regulators, a source familiar with the matter said. The product would mark the prediction market platform's entry into energy derivatives. The contract would trade continuously and never expire, reflecting Kalshi's broader push toward 24/7 markets. The filing lands amid an industry debate over whether traditional exchanges should match crypto's round-the-clock trading hours. Kalshi currently offers event contracts and has been expanding into commodity derivatives.
Kalshi's perpetual oil contract would compete directly with dated futures at CME Group and Exchange. Traders would gain continuous crude exposure without roll costs or expiration friction. The product mirrors the 24/7 structure that crypto perpetuals normalized, pressuring legacy energy exchanges to extend hours or lose retail leverage flow.
CME already sued Kalshi over its Bitcoin perpetual approval, so this filing invites immediate legal and regulatory pushback. Kalshi clears approval faster than incumbents can match the no-expiry format, it sets margin and fee templates that rivals must undercut. Energy desks now face the same structural threat that equity futures operators confronted twelve days ago.
Kalshi's crude oil filing becomes its third known perpetual futures application to CFTC reviewers, after earlier submissions for stock index and copper contracts that already pressured incumbent exchange economics.