Kraken launches crypto perpetual futures for eligible U.S. traders

Kraken has launched perpetual futures for eligible U.S. clients through a CFTC-regulated venue, bringing a product that generated more than $60 trillion in global crypto trading volume in 2025 onto its U.S. platform.

According to a June 15 announcement from Kraken, eligible U.S. users can now trade perpetual futures on Kraken Pro alongside spot, margin and traditional futures products, allowing them to manage multiple trading strategies within a single account.

Perpetual futures have become the dominant product in crypto derivatives markets because they trade continuously and do not expire. Industry data cited by crypto.news previously showed perpetual contracts accounted for $61.7 trillion in trading volume during 2025, making up most activity across the sector.

Unlike traditional futures contracts that settle on a specific date, perpetuals allow traders to maintain positions indefinitely while funding payments help keep prices aligned with the underlying asset.

Kraken brings perpetual futures onshore through Bitnomial acquisition

Central to the launch is Kraken’s acquisition of Bitnomial, a CFTC-licensed derivatives platform purchased earlier this year by parent company Payward.

Kraken said Bitnomial holds exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage licenses, enabling the company to offer perpetual futures to eligible U.S. clients within the CFTC’s regulatory framework. Through the integration, traders can use the same collateral pool across perpetual futures and other derivatives positions rather than moving assets between separate venues.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said the exchange’s objective was to place spot, margin, futures and perpetual contracts within a single account structure so traders do not need to spread capital across multiple platforms.

John Palmer, Kraken’s global head of derivatives, said traders previously faced operational challenges because perpetual futures and other positions often had to be managed on different venues. He said Kraken’s new setup allows clients to access both from one account and through a single counterparty.

The launch comes days after rival exchange Coinbase announced approval to provide access to global crypto perpetual futures liquidity for U.S. users.

As reported by crypto.news on June 11, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the approval would allow American traders to access a market that had largely developed outside the United States due to regulatory restrictions. Coinbase also stated that its structure would connect domestic users to global liquidity through Deribit, the derivatives exchange it acquired earlier this year for $2.9 billion.

Both developments arrive as U.S. regulators have begun allowing regulated access to products that were historically concentrated on offshore platforms, giving domestic traders new ways to participate in crypto derivatives markets while remaining within U.S. compliance requirements.