Perpetual futures generated more than $60 trillion in trading volume last year, with the vast majority of activity occurring outside the United States, according to the exchange.
Kraken has now begun offering regulated perpetual futures to U.S. customers, marking a major milestone in bringing one of crypto’s most widely used derivatives products onshore after years of concentration on offshore platforms.
The contracts are available on Kraken Pro and are listed through Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated exchange acquired earlier this year by Kraken’s parent company, Payward. According to a Monday blog post, users can trade perpetuals alongside spot, margin, and CME-listed crypto futures within a unified platform interface.
Perpetual futures, or “perps,” enable traders to take long or short positions on assets such as bitcoin (BTC) without owning the underlying asset and without any expiry date. Unlike traditional futures, these positions can remain open indefinitely as long as margin requirements are satisfied.
These products now dominate global crypto derivatives markets. Kraken estimates that perpetual futures trading volume exceeded $60 trillion in 2025.
A large share of this activity has been concentrated on offshore exchanges, including rapidly growing platforms like Hyperliquid, which has attracted professional traders seeking deep liquidity and continuous leverage access. Prediction market Kalshi, which recently launched perpetual-style contracts, saw more than $1 billion in trading volume within its first week.
Kraken’s move follows recent regulatory signals from the CFTC indicating that regulated venues may now list perpetual futures. In May, the agency approved Kalshi’s bitcoin perp contracts and issued guidance that also paved the way for Coinbase (COIN) to connect U.S. users to global options and perpetual markets.
The company has been steadily building out its derivatives business through acquisitions and product expansion. It acquired NinjaTrader in May 2025 and Bitnomial a year later to strengthen its regulated futures infrastructure. Kraken has also recently added CME-listed crypto futures and expanded margin trading for U.S. clients.
Kraken derivatives head John Palmer told CoinDesk that U.S. adoption of perps may follow a similar trajectory to spot bitcoin ETFs, with sophisticated traders entering first before broader institutional participation follows after compliance reviews.
At launch, Kraken’s perpetual futures include major cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC, and AVAX, with plans to expand contract coverage and collateral options over time.
Separately, the CFTC issued a late-Friday policy allowing regulated exchanges to transition perp-like futures into true perpetual contracts. Through a “no-action letter,” the regulator said exchanges may remove expiration dates from qualifying futures, provided they meet specified customer protection and procedural requirements, including notifying existing traders and allowing them to exit positions.
The relief is scheduled to expire at the end of June.
