Kalshi launches first CFTC-approved bitcoin perpetual futures for U.S. traders
Kalshi launched Bitcoin perpetual futures for U.S. traders on Tuesday, June 3, 2026, billing the product as the first American perpetual future available on a regulated exchange. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the contract, which allows traders to hold leveraged crypto positions without expiration dates. The product joins a Kalshi perpetual futures contract on KXDOGE, listed June 2, on the regulated prediction market and event-contract exchange. CEO Tarek Mansour described perpetual futures as the 'purest form of trading' in a June 1 CNBC interview. The contracts target a market that has seen over $90 trillion in offshore annual volume.
Robinhood already drives the majority of Kalshi's volume and just launched competing perpetual futures. Kalshi must capture retail flow during its altcoin expansion or watch U.S. leveraged crypto trading drift back to offshore venues.
Kalshi must now defend its standalone derivatives product against Robinhood's Rothera exchange, which is already siphoning event-contract flow and just began routing its own perpetual futures.