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CFTC Approves US Perps
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved KalshiEX to list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract in the United States, with the CFTC issuing a policy statement and two no action letters on Thursday.
Reuters and other coverage tied the move to a shift from offshore venues into a US-regulated test case, with the CFTC approving KalshiEX LLC’s BTCPERP as a futures contract and describing it as a no-expiry bitcoin perpetual tied to the spot price of BTC.
The CFTC’s approval came alongside a separate action for Coinbase Financial Markets, where staff confirmed that certain Deribit digital commodity derivatives described by Coinbase may be treated as foreign futures when routed through Coinbase’s registered futures commission merchant structure.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig framed the Kalshi order as delivery on his pledge to onshore crypto asset perpetuals, and the approval was dated May 29 with Kalshi submitting the contract on May 29 while the order identifies the submission date as May 28.
The contract design described in the coverage emphasizes that perpetual contracts have no fixed expiration date and instead use periodic funding payments exchanged between long and short position holders based on the difference between the contract price and the underlying spot price.
Industry Praises, Critics Warn
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal called the CFTC’s Coinbase-related no-action path a “massive first for the industry,” while Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong emphasized the customer-access angle and the size of the global market US users could not previously reach through regulated domestic channels.
In a statement reacting to the CFTC’s approval of Kalshi’s spot bitcoin perpetual futures contract, Benjamin Schiffrin of Better Markets said the CFTC approved Kalshi’s perpetual futures contract “despite perpetual futures being one of the most dangerous crypto products for retail investors.”
Schiffrin argued that perpetual futures are open indefinitely and “contain numerous features that make them unsuitable for retail investors,” pointing to leverage, 24/7 volatility, and the absence of expiration dates.
The CFTC actions also drew political framing in coverage that cited President Donald Trump’s social-media post arguing previous regulators “nearly DESTROYED the American Crypto Industry by driving Bitcoin, Crypto Perpetuals, and INNOVATION offshore, but 'TRUMP' SAVED IT.”
On the regulatory side, the CFTC’s Market Participants Division issued an interpretation and no-action position for Coinbase Financial Markets regarding posting customer-owned digital commodities and payment stablecoins as margin through a foreign broker affiliate under specified conditions.
24/7 Trading and Next Steps
Beyond product approvals, the CFTC issued an advisory on 24/7 trading, clearing and settlement of derivatives, and the advisory described how derivatives referencing crypto assets may be well-suited for 24/7 trading due to their digital infrastructure and global reach.
The CFTC also warned that some derivatives markets may not suit 24/7 trading, saying agricultural derivatives may face different limits because of their customer base, regional structure, and specialized hedging practices.
In the same policy environment, the CFTC and Gemini asked a Manhattan court to vacate a $5 million settlement order tied to allegations linked to Gemini’s proposed Bitcoin futures contract, according to the coverage.
The CFTC’s stance was described as a “major step forward” by Mike Selig, who said the agency was adopting policies to boost the U.S. crypto space and providing a workable framework for true crypto asset perpetual contracts.
For market participants, the approvals created two routes at once—Kalshi’s BTCPERP listed on a US-regulated exchange and Coinbase’s conditional staff-level route for US clients to reach global crypto derivatives liquidity through its CFM, Coinbase Bermuda, and Deribit affiliates.
