Kalshi has entered the precious metals perpetual futures arena; the U.S. is now set to cover precious metals pricing across prediction markets, crypto-native platforms, and securities markets—what’s your take on this?

Yesterday, Kalshi—the U.S.-based prediction market platform giant—formally submitted an application to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch perpetual futures contracts on gold, silver, and platinum, becoming the third category of market participant entering the precious metals derivatives space—following traditional securities and futures exchanges and crypto-native trading platforms. In recent years, frequent geopolitical conflicts and persistent gaps during traditional financial market holidays have exposed urgent demand for a new type of trading instrument that reflects real-time market changes without being constrained by delivery schedules—hence the emergence of perpetual futures. With their no-expiry-date structure, elimination of rollover requirements, and flexible leverage, perpetual futures quickly became the dominant derivative in cryptocurrency trading. Emerging crypto platforms—including Hyperliquid—have already launched real-world asset–linked perpetual contracts pegged to gold and crude oil, emphasizing 24/7 year-round trading. Meanwhile, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME), the traditional futures leader, has been forced to follow suit, announcing the launch of 24/7 trading for its 1-ounce gold futures contract starting July 26. Now, Kalshi’s entry—under the banner of a prediction market—further expands the pool of suppliers of precious metals perpetual products into a third market category. However, its initial offering will operate five days per week, 24 hours per day—aligned with traditional precious metals market hours—while preserving room to extend trading hours further. These three categories of participants—differing in trading hours, user base, and product mechanics—complement one another, collectively forming an almost uninterrupted precious metals price-discovery network. This means investors worldwide with varying risk appetites can essentially find a suitable U.S.-based trading venue. The fact that both prediction markets and crypto-native platforms are converging on the precious metals perpetual赛道 suggests they’re attracted by advantages such as massive market size, central bank participation, broad retail involvement, well-established Wall Street pricing logic, and mature financial infrastructure! From the demand side, bullish-bearish divergence and trading demand for precious metals are currently at elevated levels. This year, gold prices plunged up to 25% from their historical peak in late January. While elevated Fed interest-rate expectations continue to suppress the value of non-yielding assets, the Chinese central bank’s continuous gold purchases—20 consecutive months of net buying, totaling 40 tonnes in the first half of the year—have provided visible floor support. Amid intensifying long-short battles, demand for flexible leveraged instruments continues rising—and such high-uncertainty, high-divergence environments are precisely where prediction platforms like Kalshi thrive.

The U.S. has finally opened its doors to perpetual contracts—a $80-trillion market is being redefined.

Why did a single regulatory document send shockwaves across the entire crypto industry? On May 29, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a seemingly unremarkable regulatory guidance document. To most traditional finance professionals, this may be just one among dozens of routine releases—but within the crypto industry, its significance rivals that of the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs. The reason lies in the CFTC’s explicit recognition—here for the first time—that crypto assets possess an inherently 24/7 operational nature, and its provision of a regulatory framework supporting round-the-clock derivative trading. More importantly, this document effectively opens a door to the U.S. perpetual contract market—one that had never truly been unlocked before. To many ordinary investors, perpetual contracts may appear merely as yet another trading tool on exchanges. But for the broader crypto industry, perpetual contracts constitute the true engine powering market liquidity. For over a decade, although the U.S. boasts the world’s most mature capital markets, it has remained conspicuously absent from the globe’s largest crypto derivatives market. A vast majority of trading activity has taken place on offshore platforms, forcing U.S. investors to participate only indirectly. Now, that landscape is beginning to shift. If Bitcoin ETFs marked Wall Street’s formal embrace of crypto assets, then this breakthrough in perpetual-contract regulation signals America’s attempt to bring the entire crypto financial system under its own regulatory umbrella. For the U.S.—which has long aspired to become the ‘global crypto capital’—this is undoubtedly another major milestone. Perpetual Contracts: The Real Power Center of the Crypto World To outsiders, Bitcoin spot trading may seem to represent the entire crypto market. In reality, however, it is not spot trading—but rather the derivatives market—that determines market sentiment, price volatility, and liquidity scale. According to industry statistics, global crypto derivatives trading volume reached between $60 trillion and $85 trillion in 2025—accounting for over 75% of total crypto market trading volume. Within that, perpetual contracts hold absolute dominance. The reason perpetual contracts have become the market’s core is straightforward: for institutions, they enable lower-cost risk hedging and position management; for traders, they offer leverage, long/short two-way trading, and superior capital efficiency. Whether in bull or bear markets, perpetual contracts consistently generate trading demand. Over the past few years, a peculiar phenomenon has frequently occurred in crypto markets: even when spot trading volumes remain relatively stable, large-scale liquidations in the perpetual market alone can trigger violent market-wide fluctuations. This demonstrates that true pricing power has gradually shifted from spot to derivatives. Ironically, despite hosting the world’s largest financial market, U.S. investors have long been barred from directly participating in this core market. Vast sums of capital have flowed overseas, leaving regulators without direct oversight or influence over this segment. Now, with the regulatory framework gradually taking shape, the U.S. has finally decided not to exclude itself from this global financial transformation. Coinbase, Kalshi, and CME—who will emerge as the biggest winners? Regulatory doors have barely opened, yet market participants are already moving swiftly.

CFTC Seeks Input on 24/7 Futures, Energy Perpetuals Trades

Jun 22, 2026

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is soliciting public feedback on 24/7 trading and perpetual contracts for energy derivatives following concerns from major exchanges about offshore platform risks.

bloomberg

2026-06-22

CFTC Seeks Input on 24/7 Futures, Energy Perpetuals Trades

CFTC Seeks Input on 24/7 Futures, Energy Perpetuals Trades

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