Kraken and Coinbase each launched perpetual futures products Monday, with Kraken going live on CFTC-regulated crypto contracts via Bitnomial and Coinbase introducing four thematic equity-index perpetuals on US soil.
Kraken and Coinbase each launched new perpetual futures products on Monday, marking the broadest single-day expansion of US-regulated derivatives in the crypto era.
Kraken activated CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for eligible US clients through Bitnomial, a crypto derivatives exchange owned by Kraken’s parent Payward. The products are live on Kraken Pro, covering BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, LINK, DOGE, LTC, and AVAX. On the same day, Coinbase Derivatives activated four perpetual-style equity index futures priced against AI, defense, China, and Nasdaq-100-style thematic baskets, the first such contracts listed on a US regulated exchange.
How Kraken Got Here
Kraken’s path to CFTC-regulated perps runs through its April acquisition of Bitnomial. As The Defiant reported at the time, Payward agreed to pay up to $550 million for the exchange, which over a decade of operations had accumulated the full set of CFTC licenses: exchange, clearinghouse, and brokerage.
“US traders have been waiting for a regulated, domestic way to trade the product that defines global crypto derivatives markets,” said Darius Tabatabai, Head of Kraken Pro, in Kraken’s announcement. “Perpetuals, spot, margin and CME-listed futures now sit on one interface, and that changes how US clients build and manage crypto positions.”
The contracts run on an 8-hour funding cycle, with payments exchanged between longs and shorts at 7:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. CT. They sit within the same futures wallet as Kraken’s existing CME-listed contracts, so traders can manage both positions from one account. Brokerage services are provided through NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC d/b/a Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant.
Perpetual futures carry no expiry date, letting traders hold leveraged long or short positions indefinitely without rolling contracts. Kraken’s announcement noted that the format generated more than $60 trillion in global trading volume in 2025, with most of that activity on offshore platforms.
Coinbase Pushes Into Equity Territory
Coinbase’s launch takes the perpetual structure in a different direction. The four contracts cover thematic equity baskets rather than individual cryptocurrencies: the AI10 index tracks the top 10 US-listed AI companies; Defense10 tracks the top 10 aerospace and defense companies; China10 tracks the 10 largest US-listed Chinese ADRs; and Tech100 tracks the top 100 Nasdaq-listed companies.
All four index contracts use MarketVector indices, a unit of VanEck. Each contract is cash-settled and trades 24/7, with a funding mechanism designed to keep the futures price aligned with the underlying index.
Coinbase had previewed the launch in May, initially targeting a June 14 date. The products are listed on Coinbase Derivatives, a CFTC-regulated exchange, and the announcement described them as the first perpetual-style equity index futures on any US regulated exchange.
The Onshore Shift
Both launches are downstream of the CFTC’s May 29 approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The Defiant covered that approval, the first time the agency had cleared a true perpetual structure for US trading. The CFTC also issued a no-action position for Coinbase on the same day, providing a legal path for designated contract markets to convert perpetual-style contracts.
Kalshi launched its own perpetual futures on May 29, describing the products as its most significant expansion beyond prediction markets. The Defiant reported on Kalshi’s subsequent filing to add 12 altcoin perps, three days after that approval.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig said in January that the agency would use its existing authority to support perpetual futures, arguing that regulatory uncertainty had pushed trading offshore. He followed that at the Milken Institute’s Future of Finance conference by describing a framework for “true perpetuals” in the US.
Not everyone in the incumbent exchange industry is receptive. CME Group CEO Terry Duffy has called the push to bring crypto perpetual futures onshore a “disaster waiting to happen,” citing leverage risk and market-structure concerns. CME itself launched 24/7 crypto futures trading in May and processed 7,200 contracts in its first weekend.
What Offshore Venues Built, Onshore Venues Now Offer
The product category both Kraken and Coinbase are entering was built by offshore exchanges. Binance, Bybit, and Hyperliquid have dominated global perp volume without access to US retail. Hyperliquid in particular has taken an increasing share of global perp volume through builder-deployed markets. Neither Kraken nor Coinbase published leverage limits for the new products in their launch announcements, a detail regulators and the CME have flagged as central to systemic risk debates.
Coinbase’s equity-index contracts extend the perp template beyond crypto entirely. The Defiant previously covered Coinbase launching SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures, another signal that the exchange sees the perpetual structure as broadly applicable. OKX has pursued a parallel strategy in Europe, adding Magnificent 7 stocks and commodities to its X-Perps lineup.
The degree to which US retail traders migrate to onshore venues will test whether CFTC-regulated perps can compete on price, liquidity, and leverage with the offshore platforms that built the market.
