TL; DR
- Kraken says it plans to launch CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for eligible US traders within 30 days.
- Contracts will be listed on Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market owned by Kraken parent company Payward.
- The initial asset list includes BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC and AVAX.
Kraken brings perpetual futures closer to US traders
Kraken is preparing to launch what it describes as the first domestic CFTC-regulated perpetual futures product for US traders, marking a potentially significant shift in how US crypto users access one of the industry’s largest derivatives markets.
The company said the contracts are expected to go live within 30 days and be listed on Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market. Bitnomial was acquired by Payward, Kraken’s parent company, giving Kraken a domestically regulated platform for a product traditionally associated with offshore crypto exchanges.
Perpetual futures are a core part of global crypto trading as they allow traders to maintain directional exposure without a fixed expiration date. Instead of rolling dated futures contracts, traders manage positions through a funding mechanism that periodically balances the contract price with the underlying spot market.
Why the CFTC-regulated structure matters
The regulatory structure is the main story here. Kraken said the new products will be offered through NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant. The contracts will sit alongside spot, margin and CME-quoted futures in Kraken Pro, creating a more unified interface for eligible US customers.
John Palmer, Kraken’s Global Head of Derivatives, said US traders have been waiting for a regulated domestic route to the product that defines global crypto derivatives markets. He added that combining perpetuals, spot, margin and CME futures into one interface will change the way US clients can build and manage crypto positions.
That’s a strong claim, but not unreasonable. Perpetuals are already at the center of offshore crypto trading, with Kraken citing a global annual trading volume of over $60 trillion by 2025. The difference is that US traders have generally had to deal with a much narrower, more fragmented regulated product set.
What assets are included?
The initial launch suite is expected to include nine major digital assets: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC and AVAX. The contracts have rolling pricing, no expiration date and an eight-hour financing rate.
For traders, the appeal is flexibility. For regulators, the important detail is that the product is brought into a framework overseen by the CFTC, rather than being offered from an offshore location with limited U.S. oversight.
Details are still missing. Kraken did not provide a specific launch date and the post does not fully detail all eligibility requirements for US customers. That means the launch may not immediately translate into universal retail access. Yet the direction is clear: regulated American crypto derivatives are coming closer to the structure that traders worldwide already use.
This report is based on information from Kraken’s official announcement.
Read the official message on the Kraken blog.