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Kalshi eyes WTI perps
Kalshi is preparing to file with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for approval of a perpetual West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract, with the filing expected as early as next week, according to a Reuters source familiar with the matter.
“Kalshi is preparing to file a perpetual West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract”
Reuters said the proposed contract would seek approval for 24/5 trading and, if approved, would be the first perpetual futures product linked to oil to trade on a regulated U.S. platform.
The Reuters report also said the CFTC earlier this year approved the first perpetual futures contracts in the United States for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and prediction market startup Kalshi.
Separately, Crypto News reported that Kalshi plans to seek CFTC approval for a WTI perpetual futures contract that would trade 24 hours a day, five days a week, without an expiration date, and that as of Sept. 3 no WTI filing appeared in the CFTC public product database yet.
Regulatory pathway and debate
Reuters said Kalshi structured its new contract to bypass regulatory concerns raised in a CFTC review of 24/7 futures and perpetual energy contracts, and that the regulator set an August 26 deadline for public comments on a proposal for around-the-clock trading of standard futures and perpetual contracts linked to physically delivered or storable energy commodities.
The Reuters report added that earlier this year the CFTC halted the listing of a contract that would have allowed CME Group to launch round-the-clock trading in crude oil futures while it examined whether the product complied with federal commodities law.
In a separate dispute, Cryptonews.net reported that on Sept. 2 the CFTC asked a federal court to dismiss CME Group’s lawsuit challenging the regulator’s treatment of cryptocurrency perpetual contracts as futures.
Cryptonews.net said the CFTC argued CME lacks legal standing because the exchange could list perpetual futures under the same regulatory policy it is challenging, and described part of CME’s claimed competitive disadvantage as resulting from its own decision not to offer comparable products.
What approval would change
If approved, Reuters said the WTI contract would expand Kalshi’s offerings beyond cryptocurrencies and metals, and it framed the move as competing with traditional exchange operators by expanding into a range of asset classes through perpetual futures.
“If approved, the WTI crude oil contract would be the first perpetual futures product linked to oil”
Reuters described perpetual futures as derivatives contracts with no expiry date that allow traders to hold positions indefinitely without rolling them over, while also offering high levels of leverage that can amplify gains and losses.
BigGo Finance reported that Kalshi’s planned WTI-linked perpetual futures would be designed to trade 24 hours a day, five days a week, with trading halted on weekends, and said the CFTC approved Kalshi’s offering of perpetual futures in May of this year but limited the scope to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
BigGo Finance also said the CFTC initiated a public comment period in June to examine the impact of energy commodity perpetual futures on investor protection, and that whether Kalshi’s application is approved depends on the CFTC’s review.