Kraken Launches Regulated Crypto Perpetual Futures for US Traders

By Sam Reid

16th Jun 2026

Crypto

Crypto

Kraken has launched regulated perpetual futures for customers in the United States, bringing one of crypto’s most heavily traded derivatives products onshore after years of activity sitting almost entirely on offshore platforms.

The contracts are available through Kraken Pro and are listed on Bitnomial, a fully CFTC-licensed derivatives business that Kraken’s parent company Payward acquired in May 2026.

With this launch, US traders can access perpetual futures alongside spot trading, margin trading and CME-listed crypto futures from a single account.

What are Perpetual Futures?

Perpetual futures, often shortened to “perps,” let traders take long or short positions on assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum without actually owning the underlying asset.

Unlike traditional futures contracts, perps carry no expiry date, meaning positions can remain open indefinitely as long as margin requirements are met. Funding rates are used to keep the contract price aligned with the spot market, removing the need for traders to roll positions over time.

Perpetuals have become the dominant form of crypto derivatives trading globally, with annual volume passing $60 trillion in 2025 according to Kraken.

Much of that activity has historically flowed through offshore exchanges that attract professional traders chasing deep liquidity. US-based traders, by contrast, have had limited access to true perpetual contracts on regulated venues, until now.

Perpectual Futures Get the Green Light from the CFTC

The launch follows a series of regulatory signals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission suggesting that regulated platforms would soon be permitted to list these products.

In May 2026, the CFTC approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual contract and cleared a path for Coinbase to connect US customers to global perpetual and options markets. Kalshi’s own perps product, launched earlier in June, recorded more than $1 billion in trading volume within its first week, an early sign of how much pent-up demand exists in the US market.

Bitnomial’s role is central to how Kraken has been able to bring perpetuals onshore. The exchange holds the full suite of US derivatives licences, spanning exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage functions, allowing eligible Kraken clients to trade within the CFTC’s regulatory perimeter rather than relying on offshore venues with far less oversight.

One Account, One Collateral Pool

A key feature of the rollout is how perpetuals now sit alongside spot, margin and futures trading within Kraken Pro. Rather than splitting capital across multiple platforms to access different products, traders can manage their entire position from a single account using one pool of collateral.

“Spot, margin, futures and now perpetuals all live in the same account at Kraken, with perpetuals and futures backed by the same collateral so capital isn’t stranded across half a dozen venues,” said Arjun Sethi, Co-Chief Executive of Payward and Kraken.

John Palmer, Global Head of Derivatives at Kraken, said the shift means clients now deal with a single account and a single counterparty, rather than juggling relationships across multiple exchanges to build out a full derivatives strategy. Eligibility and product availability vary by jurisdiction.

Share this article!