Kalshi seeks CFTC approval for WTI perpetual

Kalshi plans to seek U.S. regulatory approval as early as next week for a perpetual futures contract linked to West Texas Intermediate crude oil, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 2.

The proposed contract would have no fixed expiration date. It would trade 24 hours a day from Monday through Friday, rather than operating continuously throughout the week, according to the report.

If the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approves the product, it would become the first WTI perpetual futures contract offered through a regulated U.S. exchange. The information came from an unidentified person familiar with Kalshi’s plans because the filing was not yet public.

No application for the proposed WTI contract appeared in the CFTC’s public product filing database as of Sept. 3. Its specifications, margin requirements, position limits, funding mechanism and expected launch date therefore remain unconfirmed.

Kalshi would remove the traditional expiration date

A conventional WTI futures contract expires during a specified month. Traders who want to retain exposure must close or settle the expiring position and open another contract with a later maturity.

Kalshi’s proposed product would remove that recurring expiration process. Traders could theoretically hold positions for an indefinite period, provided they maintained sufficient collateral and met the contract’s other requirements.

Perpetual futures normally use recurring payments or another price adjustment mechanism to keep their value close to the underlying reference market. Offshore crypto exchanges commonly use funding payments exchanged between long and short traders.

Kalshi has not publicly disclosed how its WTI product would remain aligned with the underlying oil benchmark. The method should become clearer if the exchange submits its proposed contract terms to the CFTC.

Existing WTI futures also have a direct connection to the physical oil market. CME Group’s benchmark contract represents 1,000 barrels and uses physical delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma. More than one million WTI futures and options contracts trade daily, according to CME’s product page.

Kalshi’s reported contract may use cash settlement or another structure to avoid physical delivery. No settlement method has been confirmed because the regulatory filing has not been published.

Kalshi already offers a Bitcoin perpetual

The planned oil product would expand Kalshi’s use of perpetual futures beyond cryptocurrency. The CFTC approved the exchange’s Bitcoin perpetual contract on May 29 under Commission Regulation 40.3.

Kalshi began offering the contract in June. As previously reported, the regulated Bitcoin perpetual gave U.S. traders continuous exposure without a fixed expiration date.

The earlier approval established that the CFTC can treat a contract without an expiration date as a futures product under the Commodity Exchange Act. It did not automatically authorize Kalshi to list perpetual contracts tied to other assets.

Each new product remains subject to applicable CFTC requirements. The regulator can examine whether its design prevents manipulation, provides reliable price discovery and complies with limits intended to protect market participants.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig later defended the regulator’s treatment of perpetual futures. He said existing U.S. law does not require every futures contract to have a predetermined expiration date.

Selig also rejected claims that regulated U.S. perpetuals would automatically offer the extreme leverage seen on some offshore platforms. In related coverage, the CFTC chair said regulated perpetual contracts remain subject to domestic leverage and risk controls.

Oil perpetual enters the 24-hour trading debate

Kalshi reportedly plans to make the WTI contract available continuously on weekdays. Trading would run 24 hours per day for five days, leaving the market closed during part of the weekend.

The schedule represents a compromise between existing commodity trading hours and fully continuous markets. Oil prices can react sharply to geopolitical events, production disruptions and policy announcements that occur while regulated exchanges are closed.

Supporters of longer trading hours argue that continuous access allows market participants to respond immediately. Critics warn that overnight or weekend periods may have lower liquidity, wider spreads and fewer market makers.

These concerns can become more serious in energy markets because commercial participants use futures to hedge physical production and consumption. A perpetual product could also behave differently from dated futures when the oil market moves into contango or backwardation.

Contango occurs when later-dated contracts trade above near-term prices. Backwardation describes the opposite structure. These price relationships reflect storage costs, supply conditions and demand for immediate delivery.

Kalshi’s filing will need to explain how the perpetual contract reflects those market structures without relying on a single delivery month. The funding or price adjustment formula will be central to understanding that relationship.

CME dispute creates a legal complication

Kalshi’s expansion comes while CME Group disputes the CFTC’s decision to classify perpetual contracts as futures rather than swaps. CME CEO Terry Duffy has argued that products without expiration dates should fall under the swaps framework created by the Dodd-Frank Act.

CME has threatened legal action over the regulator’s approval of crypto perpetual contracts. As crypto.news reported, the dispute concerns whether perpetual products can legally qualify as ordinary futures.

The disagreement becomes more direct when the underlying asset is WTI crude. CME operates the dominant regulated U.S. market for WTI futures and holds licensing arrangements connected to energy benchmarks.

A Kalshi WTI perpetual could therefore compete with an established commodity franchise rather than only with offshore cryptocurrency exchanges. However, the proposed product’s size, customer base and settlement design remain unknown.

CME is also preparing smaller WTI futures with continuous trading throughout the week, pending regulatory review. Its website advertises planned 10-barrel contracts that would offer access to global oil markets at all times.

The CFTC will need to assess Kalshi’s contract independently of the broader commercial dispute. Approval is not guaranteed, and Bloomberg’s report did not provide a regulatory timetable beyond the planned filing.

Public filing will reveal the contract mechanics

The next confirmed milestone will be Kalshi’s submission to the CFTC. A public filing should include the contract specifications, reference price, settlement process, position limits and safeguards against manipulation.

It should also explain the trading schedule and procedures for periods when the underlying physical and futures markets are less active. Margin and liquidation rules will determine how the exchange manages sharp oil price movements.

The filing route will matter as well. Kalshi previously sought formal CFTC approval for its Bitcoin perpetual under Regulation 40.3 instead of relying on immediate self-certification.

If Kalshi uses the same process for WTI, the regulator may approve the product, reject it or extend its review while requesting more information. The product cannot be treated as confirmed until the filing is submitted and the CFTC completes the applicable process.