Coinbase and Kalshi on Friday announced they will offer perpetual crypto futures to U.S. investors on regulated domestic platforms, marking the first time these instruments will be available through exchanges subject to U.S. oversight. Perpetual futures, commonly called "perps," are derivatives without a conventional expiration date, which allows traders to hold positions indefinitely rather than rolling contracts forward.
These contracts frequently allow substantial leverage - often cited as high as 50-to-1 - enabling investors to magnify returns and losses. The firms' move follows approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to list such products, effectively moving perpetual futures out of a regulatory gray area and into a formal onshore framework run by CFTC-regulated exchanges.
Alongside the listings, the CFTC issued a policy statement detailing its oversight of perpetual contracts. That statement requires a case-by-case regulatory review for any new perpetual product that references assets beyond those already approved, placing explicit limits on unchecked expansion of these offerings.
By launching perps within exchanges regulated by the CFTC, Coinbase and Kalshi are positioning these products as an alternative to offshore or opaque venues where U.S. customers have commonly sought access. Kalshi's CEO, Tarek Mansour, framed the change as a benefit to American businesses, saying: "Onshore, safe, and regulated perps will improve capital allocation and risk management for countless American businesses."
The surge in demand for perpetual futures has been notable. Data from market data provider CryptoQuant showed perpetual futures trading volume reached $61.7 trillion in 2025, up 29% from 2024. That rise has coincided with traders seeking ways to capitalize on volatility during a period of broadly lower token prices since October.
However, critics caution that perpetual futures carry material risks, especially for retail investors. High leverage means that relatively small adverse price moves can rapidly eliminate a trader's position. Observers say that this dynamic requires a level of sophistication not always present among individual market participants.
The product launch also represents a strategic transition for Kalshi, which began as a prediction market and is now entering the higher-volume derivatives arena. Mansour described the shift succinctly: "This marks Kalshi’s evolution from prediction market leader to next-gen derivatives exchange."
Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, will offer these regulated perpetual contracts alongside Kalshi. Bringing perps under the CFTC's regulatory framework is intended to provide both institutional and retail investors with a regulated onshore way to trade these instruments rather than relying on foreign exchanges or less transparent platforms.
While proponents argue the new listings will improve access and risk management for U.S. market participants, the CFTC's explicit direction that new products referencing unapproved assets undergo individual review signals a measured approach to future expansion. That policy aims to balance product innovation with oversight of potential market and investor risks.
The introduction of regulated perpetual futures by Coinbase and Kalshi therefore constitutes a notable development for the crypto derivatives market - creating a U.S.-based, regulated avenue for trading perps while also embedding additional regulatory guardrails around product proliferation and asset eligibility.