CFTC Opens US Crypto Perpetuals Door With First Approvals at Kalshi and Coinbase

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a pair of historic clearances Friday that effectively opened the door for crypto perpetual futures in the US for the first time. The agency approved Kalshi to list the first true bitcoin perpetual contract on a regulated US exchange and simultaneously issued guidance that allows Coinbase Financial Markets to route US clients into global crypto perpetuals and options markets through its Bermuda subsidiary.

Kalshi’s BTCPERP marks the first time a CFTC-registered exchange has been cleared to list a true bitcoin-referenced perpetual contract. The approval requires Kalshi to “list and maintain the BTCPERP Contract in compliance with all applicable provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act.” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour called it the company’s “evolution from prediction market leader to next-gen derivatives exchange,” arguing in a blog post that “onshore, safe and regulated perps will improve capital allocation and risk management for countless American businesses.” Kalshi has been expanding aggressively in recent weeks, including securing CFTC margin trading approval and launching new regulatory advocacy initiatives.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The Coinbase side of the announcement is structured differently.

The CFTC issued a no-action letter allowing Coinbase Financial Markets to route US clients to perpetual futures listed on Coinbase Bermuda, where they will be treated as “foreign futures.” The arrangement permits CFM to post customer digital assets, including bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins, as margin collateral. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal called the development a “massive first for the industry” on X.

CFTC Chair Mike Selig framed the announcement as the delivery on commitments he made when he became chair earlier this year. “In my first public remarks as CFTC Chairman, I made clear that the agency would use the tools at its disposal to onshore crypto asset perpetuals,” Selig wrote on X. “Today, the CFTC delivered on that commitment.” In an opinion piece published the same day, Selig argued that perpetuals “represent a foundational risk management and price discovery tool in the global crypto asset markets” and called the action “a major step forward in delivering on President Trump’s goal of cementing America as the crypto capital of the world.”

The action follows Trump’s Truth Social post earlier in the week that argued previous administration regulators had “nearly DESTROYED the American Crypto Industry by driving Bitcoin, Crypto Perpetuals, and INNOVATION offshore.” The new stance does not yet carry the weight of a formal rule. The CFTC’s approach has been to use statements, no-action letters, and policy guidance to clear new paths while it awaits formal market structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act. Selig noted his framework would “limit excessive leverage, volatility and systemic risk.”

Other CFTC-regulated crypto-native exchanges include Bitnomial (recently acquired by Kraken) and Gemini, plus Kalshi’s prediction-market rival Polymarket, which has not yet received perpetuals approval. The Friday actions follow a stretch of CFTC activity that included the agency’s policy statement on perpetual contracts, a notice of proposed rulemaking on event contracts now under White House OMB review, and the joint motion filed earlier in the week with Gemini to vacate a $5 million settlement the agency said it no longer considered fair.