Kalshi is preparing to file a perpetual West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract with U.S. regulators, a source familiar with the matter said, expanding the prediction market startup's offerings beyond cryptocurrencies and metals.
The filing with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, expected as early as next week, will seek approval for 24/5 trading of the perpetual contracts, said the source, who requested anonymity because the plans are not yet public.
If approved, the WTI crude oil contract would be the first perpetual futures product linked to oil to trade on a regulated U.S. platform, following strong demand for similar instruments on offshore decentralized exchanges such as Hyperliquid.
Regulatory backdrop and Kalshi’s broader strategy
Perpetual futures, or "perps", are derivatives contracts with no expiry date, allowing traders to hold positions indefinitely without rolling them over. The products also offer high levels of leverage, enabling investors to amplify gains, as well as losses, from market moves.
The move underscores Kalshi's broader strategy of competing with traditional exchange operators by expanding beyond event contracts into a range of asset classes through perpetual futures.
Kalshi has already filed with regulators to launch perpetual contracts tied to equity index and metals. The company has also submitted filings for foreign exchange and interest-rate perpetuals, according to media reports, while the CFTC has said contracts tied to new asset classes would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The CFTC earlier this year approved the first perpetual futures contracts in the United States for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase COIN.O and prediction market startup Kalshi.
Energy contract structure aimed at avoiding CFTC concerns
Kalshi structured its new contract to bypass regulatory concerns raised in a CFTC review of 24/7 futures and perpetual energy contracts, according to the source.
The regulator set an August 26 deadline for public comments on a proposal that would allow around-the-clock trading of standard futures contracts and permit perpetual contracts linked to physically delivered or storable energy commodities.
Earlier this year, the CFTC halted the listing of a contract that would have allowed CME Group CME.O to launch round-the-clock trading in crude oil futures.
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