CFTC Approves Kalshi's Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Contract
The CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP contract, a perpetual futures contract referencing Bitcoin's spot price, for listing on a regulated U.S. designated contract market. The order opened a regulated domestic path for a derivatives structure that had become central to offshore crypto trading.
On May 29, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved KalshiEX LLC's BTCPERP contract for listing as a futures contract on a U.S. designated contract market. BTCPERP references the spot price of bitcoin and uses a perpetual structure rather than expiring on a fixed date.
Perpetual futures had become one of the defining trading instruments of cryptocurrency markets, particularly on offshore exchanges. Unlike conventional dated futures, a perpetual contract has no fixed expiration and uses a funding or price-alignment mechanism intended to keep the derivative near the underlying spot market. That structure gave traders continuous leveraged exposure but had historically sat largely outside the regulated U.S. futures framework.
Kalshi submitted BTCPERP for voluntary CFTC review under Commission Regulation 40.3. The agency determined that the contract complied with the Commodity Exchange Act and the core principles applicable to designated contract markets. The Commission simultaneously issued broader policy guidance on perpetual contracts and emphasized that products involving other asset classes might require case-by-case review.
The approval was a milestone in Bitcoin market structure because it brought a major crypto-native derivatives form into the regulated U.S. futures system with Bitcoin as the reference asset. It did not simply authorize another Bitcoin futures expiry or increase an existing contract limit; it established a regulated pathway for a contract design that had been closely associated with offshore crypto markets.