Kraken launched CFTC-regulated perpetual futures in the US after acquiring Bitnomial. Nine tokens are available on Kraken Pro, giving US traders a regulated alternative to offshore exchanges.
Kraken launched CFTC-regulated perpetual futures in the United States on Thursday. The contracts are listed on Bitnomial, a derivatives exchange that Payward, Kraken's parent company, acquired. Nine tokens are available: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC and AVAX.
The products sit inside Kraken Pro alongside spot trading, margin and CME futures. Kraken already runs perpetuals for clients outside the US. The new offering is the first to come under US derivatives regulation via a CFTC-registered venue.
Perpetual futures use a periodic funding rate to keep prices anchored to spot. That structure made them the dominant derivatives product on offshore exchanges. Kraken now replicates it within US regulatory boundaries.
Kraken Brings Regulated Crypto Perpetual Futures to US Traders
Kraken parent Payward acquired Bitnomial, a CFTC-licensed designated contract market. The deal gave Kraken a regulated venue to list derivatives without building its own clearing infrastructure. Bitnomial previously offered its own Bitcoin and Ether futures.
The nine-token selection covers Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Chainlink, Dogecoin, Litecoin and Avalanche. The exchange did not disclose margin requirements or position limits in the announcement. Kraken said the product targets US traders who want regulated access to perpetual contracts.
Kraken's move puts it ahead of other major US exchanges on product breadth. Coinbase offers Bitcoin and Ether futures through its CFTC-registered futures commission merchant. It does not offer perpetuals. CME Group offers dated futures. It has never introduced a perpetual contract. Bitnomial's perpetual launch leaves Kraken as the only US exchange offering that contract type across the nine tokens, at least for now.
Offshore exchanges such as Binance and Bybit still dominate global perpetual volume. US regulators have restricted access to those platforms. Kraken's regulated alternative could capture a share of that demand, some traders said.
The exchange plans to add more tokens and margin tiers in future updates, it said.
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