Kalshi's regulated crypto perpetual futures top $1 billion in trading volume within a week of launch

The platform officially launched trading on the contracts last week, recording more than $100 million in volume in the first 24 hours. More than 1 million people had joined the queue for access to the product at its peak, a company spokesperson noted, adding that no other offering in Kalshi's history has grown as quickly.

Perpetual futures, or perps, do not have an expiration date. This lets traders bet on price changes without owning the asset. A funding system keeps the contract price close to the market price. Globally, trading in this asset class is over $90 trillion each year. Before Kalshi, U.S. traders could not use a regulated domestic platform for these contracts.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order approving KalshiEX's BTCPERP contract on May 29, determining that the contract complies with the Commodity Exchange Act and applicable regulations. The commission noted that the perpetual contract design may not be suitable for all asset classes and encouraged market participants to engage with staff before submitting contracts on assets not covered by the order.

"This marks Kalshi's evolution from prediction market leader to next-gen derivatives exchange," said Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour. "Onshore, safe, and regulated perps will improve capital allocation and risk management for countless American businesses."

Kalshi said it aims to launch crypto perpetuals on more than a dozen currencies, pending additional regulatory reviews. Perpetual futures on agricultural commodities will not be part of its product offerings, the company said. Funding rates are updated every eight hours.

For comparison, it took Kalshi 40 months to reach $1 billion in volume across its event contracts.

Kalshi's perpetual futures launch represents the company's largest product expansion since it first introduced regulated perpetual futures to U.S. investors, a market that had been accessible only through offshore exchanges. The company, which raised a $1 billion Series F at a $22 billion valuation last month, said it accounts for more than 90% of prediction market activity in the U.S.