Kraken launches perpetual futures for US clients through CFTC-regulated Bitnomial. The move gives domestic traders access to a $61 trillion market, following Coinbase's recent approval.
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Kraken has launched perpetual futures for eligible U.S. clients through a CFTC-regulated venue. The product generated more than $60 trillion in global crypto trading volume in 2025.
Perpetual futures trade continuously without an expiry date. Unlike traditional futures that settle on a specific date, perpetuals use a funding mechanism to keep prices aligned with the underlying spot market. That structure has made them the dominant product in crypto derivatives.
The launch is built on Kraken's acquisition of Bitnomial, a CFTC-licensed derivatives platform purchased earlier this year by parent company Payward. Bitnomial holds exchange and clearinghouse licenses, Kraken said. That allows Kraken to offer perpetual futures to eligible U.S. clients within CFTC rules.
Traders can now hold spot, margin, futures and perpetuals in a single Kraken Pro account. The same collateral pool covers all positions. Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said the goal was to let traders manage multiple strategies without moving capital across separate platforms.
John Palmer, Kraken's global head of derivatives, said the operational friction of managing perpetuals and other positions on different venues has been a recurring complaint. The new setup removes that, he said.
The launch arrives days after rival Coinbase received approval to offer similar access to global perpetual liquidity through its Deribit acquisition. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the approval would let American traders participate in a market that had largely developed offshore due to regulatory limits.
U.S. regulators have begun allowing regulated access to products that were concentrated outside the country. That shift could reshape where volume flows and which venues capture it.
The perpetual futures market reached $61.7 trillion in global trading volume in 2025, according to industry data cited by Kraken. Most of that activity takes place on offshore platforms like Binance and Bybit.
Now Kraken and Coinbase offer a CFTC- or regulated path. The difference in custody and bankruptcy treatment between a U.S.-regulated venue and an offshore one may matter more to institutions than to retail traders. Kraken said accounts fall under U.S. oversight, with the same protections as its existing futures products.
Funding rates and leverage limits will vary across the two platforms. Traders should check the terms on each. Both venues are live now.
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