CFTC Chair Says Perpetual Contracts Unsuitable for Traditional Commodity Markets

Bitcoin perpetual futures have no expiry date, allowing traders to maintain leveraged positions over long periods through margin and funding-rate payments. Trading in the contracts has historically been concentrated on offshore crypto exchanges. Bringing them under U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight would give retail and institutional investors a regulated channel while improving market transparency and investor protection.

In May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX’s listing of the BTCPERP contract, marking the first entry of Bitcoin perpetual futures into the regulated U.S. market. The approval allows investors to trade a Bitcoin derivative with no fixed expiry under the U.S. regulatory framework. Reports did not disclose the contract’s trading volume, maximum leverage or formal launch date.

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.

Crypto perpetual contracts have no expiry date and allow traders to maintain leveraged positions indefinitely, but U.S. derivatives regulations have long constrained the products, pushing much of their trading volume to offshore platforms. Through “Project Crypto,” the CFTC is coordinating with the SEC on jurisdiction over DeFi, prediction markets and crypto assets, a process that will determine whether U.S. firms can legally offer such products.

In July 2026, CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said the agency would announce a policy to legalize crypto-asset perpetual contracts within a month and backed keeping crypto markets open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The CFTC has opened initial approval pathways for companies including Kalshi and Coinbase as crypto derivatives trading volume sits near a two-year low.