CFTC’s Selig Champions U.S. Crypto Lead After Bitcoin Perpetual Approval

Perpetual contracts have no expiry date and use funding rates to keep contract prices close to spot prices, making them suitable for assets such as bitcoin that trade around the clock. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s delineation of their appropriate use has implications for farmers and companies that use futures on corn, cotton and other commodities to hedge risk. It also signals that crypto-market structures will not be transplanted wholesale into physical commodity markets.

On June 23, 2026, CFTC Chair Michael Selig told the American Cotton Shippers Association’s annual convention that 24-hour perpetual contracts were not a natural fit for agricultural markets, which have limited trading hours and rely on physical delivery. The CFTC had approved Kalshi’s BTCPERP Bitcoin Spot Reference Perpetual Futures on May 29 and issued an interpretation and no-action letter concerning Coinbase’s application. The related documents did not disclose trading amounts.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently approved Kalshi, Coinbase and Kraken to offer crypto perpetual contracts in the United States, aiming to bring demand previously concentrated on offshore platforms under domestic oversight. These high-leverage derivatives have no expiration date, raising retail investor protection and market competition concerns among traditional institutions.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has publicly defended the approvals, arguing that regulated U.S. markets can give retail investors better protections than offshore platforms and saying some incumbents are “afraid of the future.” Reports have not disclosed the exact approval dates, contract sizes or trading volumes, but they confirm that all three platforms have been authorized to offer the products in the United States.