Kraken Launches CFTC-Regulated Perpetual Futures for US Traders

Kraken started offering perpetual futures to eligible US users on Monday, routing the contracts through its recently acquired Bitnomial exchange. The product lands under full CFTC regulation, a structure that sets it apart from the offshore platforms that dominate the global perpetual market.

That market exceeded $60 trillion in trading volume in 2025, according to Kraken's announcement. The vast majority of that activity runs through venues beyond US regulatory reach. Kraken's move gives American traders a regulated on-ramp to a product that has been largely off-limits.

Perpetual futures let traders take leveraged long or short positions on an asset's price without an expiration date. Positions stay open as long as margin requirements are met. Kraken uses a funding rate that resets every eight hours – at 7 p.m., 3 a.m., and 11 a.m. CT. When the perpetual contract trades above spot, long holders pay short holders. The reverse happens when it trades below. The mechanism keeps contract pricing tethered to the underlying asset.

Nine cryptocurrencies are available at launch: Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Ripple, Cardano, Chainlink, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Avalanche. Kraken plans to add more assets and expand collateral options over time.

Payward, Kraken's parent company, bought derivatives exchange Bitnomial in May 2026. A year earlier, it acquired NinjaTrader, the futures brokerage now rebranded as Kraken Derivatives US and registered with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant. Perpetual contracts sit in the same futures wallet as Kraken's existing CME-listed products, so traders can manage both types of positions with the same funds.

“The most useful thing an exchange business can do for a serious trader is to put everything in one place,” Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said. “Spot, margin, futures, and now perpetuals all live in the same account at Kraken.”

Darius Tabatabai, head of Kraken Pro, said Bitnomial's regulated infrastructure made a fast rollout possible. “Their work on the regulatory and market structure side, combined with Kraken's distribution and technology, is what brings this to US traders at scale,” Tabatabai added.

The launch follows signals from the CFTC in May that opened a path for regulated venues to list perpetual futures. The agency approved Bitcoin perpetual contracts from prediction market Kalshi that month and allowed Coinbase to connect US customers to global options and perpetual markets. Kalshi recorded more than $1 billion in perpetual trading volume within its first week.

Kraken's move is the latest in a string of derivatives releases for its US customers. It launched CME-listed crypto futures in July 2025 and added margin trading for eligible US clients earlier in June 2026.

John Palmer, Kraken's head of derivatives, told CoinDesk that adoption could follow the pattern set by spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Sophisticated traders enter first, he said, with institutional funds following after internal compliance reviews.

CME, which lists Bitcoin and Ether futures, carries an Alpha Score of 54, reflecting mixed sentiment in the derivatives space. The regulated perpetual market now has three US venues – Kalshi, Coinbase's conduit, and Kraken – each with different asset coverage and margin rules. Traders will watch whether volume migrates from offshore platforms and how the CFTC handles any future product expansions.