Kraken has announced plans to launch what it describes as the first Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated perpetual futures contracts for U.S. crypto traders, marking a significant development in the country’s digital asset derivatives market.
According to the May 29, 2026 announcement and the regulatory filing submitted the same day, eligible U.S. clients will be able to trade perpetual futures directly through Kraken Pro within the next 30 days. The product will sit alongside spot trading, margin trading, and CME-listed crypto futures, giving traders access to multiple crypto markets through a single interface.
Bringing perpetual futures onshore
Perpetual futures are derivative contracts that allow traders to maintain exposure to an underlying asset without an expiration date. Unlike traditional futures contracts, perpetuals do not require traders to roll over positions when contracts expire.
The product dominates global crypto derivatives markets, with annual trading volume exceeding $60 trillion in 2025, according to Kraken. However, U.S. traders have historically had limited access to regulated perpetual contracts, with much of the activity occurring on offshore platforms.
The contracts will be listed on Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated exchange recently acquired by Kraken’s parent company, Payward. The contracts will feature continuous pricing, no expiration date, and an eight-hour funding rate mechanism commonly used across global crypto perpetual markets.
Expanding U.S. derivatives offerings
Initially, Kraken plans to offer perpetual contracts tied to major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and Avalanche (AVAX). Kraken has said it intends to expand both the contract set and product functionality (including broader collateral options) over time.
John Palmer, Kraken’s Global Head of Derivatives, said the launch is intended to provide U.S. traders with regulated domestic access to a product that has largely remained unavailable in the country. “US traders have been waiting for a regulated, domestic way to trade the product that defines global crypto derivatives markets,” Palmer said.
Kraken added that the contracts will share the same futures wallet as its existing CME-listed futures products, allowing traders to manage both traditional futures and perpetual positions from a single account.
Part of Kraken’s broader U.S. expansion
The perpetual futures launch follows a series of regulatory and product developments for Kraken in the United States. In July 2025, the exchange introduced support for CME-listed crypto futures, while earlier this month it launched CFTC-regulated spot margin trading for eligible U.S. customers.
The announcement also comes days after Kraken joined Coinbase and Binance.US in the Blockworks Transparency Alliance, an industry initiative focused on improving disclosure standards for crypto projects and addressing information gaps for investors.
Separately, Kraken recently introduced a Bitcoin yield product that routes customer BTC into decentralized finance protocols, including Aave and Morpho. The launch drew attention after OpenZeppelin founder Manuel Aráoz warned that he now considers “all of DeFi unsafe,” citing the increasing ability of AI-powered tools to identify vulnerabilities in smart contracts.
With the planned launch of regulated perpetual futures, Kraken is continuing to expand its presence across both traditional and crypto-native trading products as competition among U.S. exchanges intensifies amid a shifting regulatory landscape.
Also read: Coinbase Launches in India With Direct INR Rails, Spot Trading, & Perpetual Futures
