Bitcoin climbed above $65,000 as easing geopolitical tensions sparked a broader risk-on rally across crypto, equities, and global financial markets.
Kraken has begun offering regulated perpetual futures to customers in the United States. The launch brings one of crypto's most traded derivatives products into the country after years of activity sitting on offshore venues.
The contracts are available through Kraken Pro and listed on Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated exchange that parent company Payward acquired and folded in during May 2026. Traders can reach the products alongside spot trading, margin trading, and CME-listed crypto futures from a single interface. Kraken announced the rollout in a blog post on June 15.
How Perpetual Futures Work
Perpetual futures, often called perps, let traders take long or short positions on assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) without owning them. The contracts carry no expiration date, so positions can stay open as long as margin requirements are met. Funding rates keep the contract price aligned with the spot market.
The product has become the dominant form of crypto derivatives trading worldwide. Annual perpetual futures volume passed $60 trillion in 2025, according to Kraken.
Source: Kraken
Much of that trading has run through offshore exchanges, including fast-growing platforms such as Hyperliquid that draw professional traders seeking deep liquidity. US users have historically had limited access to true #perps on regulated venues. Prediction market Kalshi added perps earlier in June 2026 and recorded more than $1 billion in volume within a week.
The debut follows recent signals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that regulated platforms could list the product. In May 2026, the agency approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contract and cleared a path for Coinbase to connect US customers to global perpetual and options markets.
Building Toward an Onshore Launch
Kraken built toward the launch through a series of derivatives acquisitions. The company bought NinjaTrader in May 2025 to support its US derivatives arm, then acquired Bitnomial a year later for regulated futures infrastructure. It recently added CME-listed crypto futures and margin trading for American customers.
John Palmer, Kraken's head of derivatives, said adoption could follow the path of spot Bitcoin ETFs, with sophisticated traders entering first. Investment advisers and asset managers may follow once they complete internal reviews, he told CoinDesk.
At launch, the contracts cover major tokens including BTC, ETH, Solana (SOL), XRP, Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and Avalanche (AVAX). Kraken said it plans to widen the range of contracts and collateral options over time. BTC traded around $66,858 at the time of the announcement.
Related Article: Kraken Plans BTC Perp Futures in US Within 30 Days
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