Kraken launches U.S. perpetual futures as crypto derivatives move onshore

Much of the activity has occurred on offshore exchanges, including fast-growing platforms such as Hyperliquid, which has attracted professional traders seeking deep liquidity and continuous access to leveraged markets. Prediction market Kalshi, which introduced perps on its platform earlier this month, saw over $1 billion in trading volume within just one week.

The debut comes weeks after the CFTC signaled that regulated platforms could offer perpetual futures. In May, the agency approved Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual contracts and issued guidance that also cleared a path for Coinbase (COIN) to connect U.S. customers to global options and perpetual markets.

Kraken has been building toward the introduction through a series of derivatives-focused acquisitions and product releases. The company acquired NinjaTrader in May 2025 and Bitnomial a year later to gain regulated futures infrastructure. It recently added CME-listed crypto futures and margin trading for U.S. customers.

Kraken’s head of derivatives John Palmer told CoinDesk last week that adoption may mirror the trajectory of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with sophisticated traders entering first before investment advisers and asset managers follow after completing internal reviews.

At launch, Kraken’s perpetual futures cover major cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC and AVAX. The company said it plans to expand the range of contracts and collateral options over time.