Kalshi now sells more than yes-or-no contracts. On May 29, 2026, it announced perpetual futures regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, calling them the first perpetuals ever offered in the United States, and trading opened in early June with a Bitcoin contract. CNBC reported that the product crossed $1 billion in volume within its first week.
Perpetual futures, or perps, are the most traded instrument in crypto, but until 2026 Americans could only reach them on offshore exchanges. They work very differently from event contracts: there is no settlement date, positions use leverage, and a bad move can wipe out your margin. This guide explains how Kalshi's perps work, how they differ from its prediction markets, what they cost and the risks.
| Event contracts | Perpetual futures | |
|---|---|---|
| Question | Will something happen? | Where is a price going? |
| Payout | $1 or $0 at settlement | Profit or loss as the price moves |
| Expiry | Settle when the event resolves | None; held as long as you keep margin |
| Leverage | None; you pay up to $1 per contract | Yes, with margin |
| Can you lose more than you paid? | No | Your margin can be fully liquidated |
| Ongoing costs | Trading fees | Trading fees plus funding payments |
What a Perpetual Future Is
A traditional future expires on a set date, when it settles against the price of the underlying asset. A perpetual future never expires. Instead, it stays tied to the underlying price through funding payments exchanged between buyers and sellers at regular intervals.
When the perp trades above the underlying asset's price, holders of long positions pay holders of short positions, which pushes traders to sell and pulls the perp back down. When it trades below, shorts pay longs. Kalshi charges funding every eight hours and shows the payments in your transaction history.
The structure lets traders hold a leveraged position on Bitcoin for as long as they like without rolling contracts. That convenience is why perps account for most crypto derivatives trading. Kalshi cited offshore perpetual volume growing from $28 trillion in 2023 to more than $90 trillion in 2025.
How Kalshi's Perps Differ From Its Prediction Markets
On Kalshi's event contracts, the most you can lose is what you paid: a contract bought at 40 cents can fall to zero, but not below. There is no leverage, no margin call and no liquidation. Our guide to how prediction markets work covers the mechanics.
Perps are the opposite. You post margin, which controls a position larger than the margin itself. A 10% move in Bitcoin can be a much larger percentage gain or loss on your margin, depending on leverage. If losses eat through your margin, the position is liquidated, meaning closed automatically at a loss. You can lose your entire margin quickly in a fast market.
The two products also answer different questions. A Kalshi market on whether Bitcoin will end the month above a level pays a fixed amount if it does; our guide to Bitcoin prediction markets explains those contracts. A perp pays more the further the price moves your way and costs more the further it moves against you.
What Kalshi Offers and Where
Kalshi started with Bitcoin and said it aimed to list crypto perps on more than a dozen currencies, subject to regulatory review, but not on agricultural commodities. It has since filed to extend the product to other assets, including metals and stock indexes. Ether perps were trading by September 2026, when allegations of activity that inflated their volume drew coverage in The Wall Street Journal and attention from the CFTC.
Distribution is spreading beyond Kalshi's own app. Webull said it would offer Kalshi's crypto perps to eligible US customers starting in November 2026, with contracts listed on Kalshi's exchange and cleared through its clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear.
Costs: Fees and Funding
A perp trade has two kinds of cost. Trading fees are charged when you open and close a position; perps have their own fee schedule on Kalshi's site, separate from the event contract formula described in our Kalshi fees guide. Funding is charged or paid every eight hours while you hold a position, and depending on the market's direction it can be a significant cost for long-held leveraged positions.
API traders should note that perps use separate rate-limit buckets from prediction markets; our Kalshi API guide explains the limits.
The Risks
- Leverage cuts both ways. Higher leverage means a smaller move can liquidate you.
- Weekend and overnight moves. Crypto trades around the clock, so a position can be liquidated while you sleep.
- Funding drift. In crowded markets, funding can run against you for weeks.
- Thin books. New contracts can have wide spreads and limited depth, which makes large orders expensive to fill and liquidations harsher.
- Regulatory change. Perps are new to US regulation. The rules, available products and broker access may change as the CFTC and the courts work through them.
Kalshi's perps are regulated, which means segregated customer funds and CFTC oversight. Leverage is still leverage. Trade with money you can afford to lose and use stop orders or small position sizes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Kalshi offer perpetual futures?
Yes. Kalshi announced CFTC-regulated perpetual futures on May 29, 2026, starting with a Bitcoin contract that began trading in early June, and has since added other crypto assets.
How often is funding paid on Kalshi perps?
Every eight hours. Payments appear in your transaction history.
Can I lose more than I put in on Kalshi perps?
Perps use margin and leverage, so a position can be liquidated and you can lose your entire margin. That is different from Kalshi's event contracts, where the most you can lose is the price you paid.
Are perpetual futures legal in the US?
Yes, on CFTC-approved venues. Kalshi says it became the first US exchange to offer them, in 2026. Offshore perpetual exchanges generally do not serve US customers.
How are perps different from Kalshi's Bitcoin prediction markets?
A Bitcoin prediction market pays $1 if a condition is met, such as Bitcoin closing above a price, and $0 if not. A perp gains or loses continuously with the price and uses leverage.
Can I trade Kalshi perps through another broker?
Webull said it would offer Kalshi's crypto perps to eligible US customers starting in November 2026.
