Kraken said it plans to launch CFTC-regulated perpetual futures in the U.S. within the next 30 days, giving eligible clients access through Kraken Pro. The move is aimed at bringing a major offshore crypto-derivatives product into a domestic regulated venue, alongside spot, margin and CME-listed futures in one interface.
The timing matters because U.S. competitors are already moving. The CFTC approved KalshiEX’s BTCPERP contract on May 29, while Coinbase Financial Markets said CFTC guidance now positions it to connect U.S. clients to global crypto derivatives liquidity, including options and perpetual futures.
Bitnomial Becomes Kraken’s Perps Venue
Kraken said the contracts will be listed on Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated exchange recently acquired by its parent company, Payward. That acquisition gives Kraken a regulated domestic route for perpetual futures, rather than relying on offshore access or synthetic alternatives.
US clients will soon be able to trade perpetual futures on @KrakenPro
Continuous pricing, no expiration, eight-hour funding rate, all integrated alongside the spot and futures markets you already use.
Available to eligible US clients in the next 30 days. ⤵️…
— Kraken (@krakenfx) May 29, 2026
The planned contracts will feature continuous pricing, no expiration date and an eight-hour funding rate, matching the standard crypto-perps structure. Initial eligible assets include BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC and AVAX, with broader collateral options and additional functionality expected over time.
Kraken said the product will operate through NinjaTrader Clearing, doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant. The exchange layer will sit on Bitnomial Exchange, a CFTC Designated Contract Market, creating a more formal regulatory stack for U.S. access.
Onshore Liquidity Becomes the Real Test
The market opportunity is large. Perpetual futures trading volume reached $61.7 trillion in 2025, according to CryptoQuant data cited by Reuters, far above spot crypto trading volume that year.
Kalshi’s approval created the clearest domestic benchmark, with the CFTC finding its bitcoin perpetual contract compliant with the Commodity Exchange Act and DCM core principles. That approval shifts the competition from regulatory permission to execution quality, including clearing, market-making and liquidity depth.
Coinbase is taking a different route, using Coinbase Financial Markets to connect U.S. institutional clients to global derivatives liquidity. Options on Deribit are live through that channel, with perpetual futures to follow, according to Coinbase’s own announcement.
The new U.S. perps race changes counterparty and custody assumptions. Regulated venues could compress the gap between offshore liquidity and domestic compliance needs, but traders will still compare fees, leverage limits, funding mechanics and execution quality.
Kraken’s launch window will show whether regulatory access can translate into meaningful market share. The next contest is liquidity migration, as U.S. venues try to capture flows that have historically concentrated on offshore perpetual-futures platforms.
