Kraken Launches CFTC-Regulated Bitcoin and Crypto Perpetual Futures for U.S. Traders

Bitcoin Magazine

Kraken Launches CFTC-Regulated Bitcoin and Crypto Perpetual Futures for U.S. Traders

Kraken has switched on perpetual futures trading for eligible U.S. clients on Kraken Pro, bringing the most-traded crypto derivatives product under domestic regulatory oversight for the first time at scale.

The contracts are listed on Bitnomial, a CFTC-licensed exchange, clearinghouse, and brokerage that Kraken’s parent company, Payward, acquired earlier this year. The launch gives U.S. traders access to perpetual futures — a product that generated more than $60 trillion in global trading volume in 2025 — within the CFTC’s regulatory perimeter, on a platform they can use alongside spot, margin, and CME-listed futures.

Perpetual futures track the price of an underlying asset without an expiration date. Unlike standard futures contracts, positions require no rollover and can remain open as long as margin requirements are met. The structure gives traders sustained leveraged exposure, long or short, to assets they do not hold in custody.

To keep contract prices anchored to spot markets, Kraken’s perpetuals use an 8-hour funding rate mechanism. At 7 p.m., 3 a.m., and 11 a.m. CT each day, long and short position holders exchange funding payments. When the perpetual price sits above spot, longs pay shorts; when below, shorts pay longs, the company said. 

Kraken’s launch

The launch rests on Bitnomial, which holds the full stack of U.S. derivatives licenses — exchange, clearinghouse, and brokerage. Payward closed the Bitnomial acquisition in May of this year, one year after completing its purchase of NinjaTrader in May 2025. 

Those two acquisitions gave Kraken the regulated infrastructure needed to offer perpetuals within a domestic venue.

Perpetual contracts on Kraken Pro sit in the same futures wallet as existing CME-listed products, meaning traders can manage both CME futures and crypto perpetuals against a single pool of collateral. That structure removes the need to hold capital across multiple venues to fund separate positions.

Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, framed the offering around operational efficiency: 

“The most useful thing an exchange business can do for a serious trader is to put everything in one place. 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.”

At launch, eligible U.S. clients can trade perpetual bitcoin and eight other assets. Kraken has said it intends to expand both the contract set and available collateral options over time. 

Products are offered through NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant.

The launch follows a CFTC signal in May that opened the door for regulated platforms to offer perpetual futures. 

The agency approved Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual contracts that month and issued guidance that also created a path for Coinbase to connect U.S. customers to global options and perpetual markets. 

Kalshi saw more than $1 billion in perpetual trading volume within its first week of offering the product.

This post Kraken Launches CFTC-Regulated Bitcoin and Crypto Perpetual Futures for U.S. Traders first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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