Kalshi Files for WTI Crude Oil Perpetual Futures Contract Approval with CFTC
According to reports, Kalshi is preparing to submit an application for a perpetual futures contract based on WTI crude oil, featuring continuous five-day trading with no expiration.
According to reports, prediction market platform Kalshi intends to pursue regulatory clearance for a perpetual futures contract tied to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil that features no expiration date.
A source with knowledge of the situation revealed to Bloomberg that the filing could be submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as early as the coming week. Reuters reported that the contract would operate around the clock, five days per week.
Should the contract receive approval, it would mark the first perpetual futures product linked to oil to be traded on a US-regulated exchange platform.
Cointelegraph has reached out to Kalshi requesting comment.
Derivatives known as perpetual futures, frequently referred to as "perps," lack expiration dates, enabling traders to hold their positions for an unlimited duration without the need to roll contracts forward.
The CFTC invited public input in June regarding the expansion of conventional futures contracts to round-the-clock trading and the authorization of perpetual contracts connected to energy commodities that can be physically delivered or stored, such as crude oil.
The regulator stopped the self-certified launch of a CME Group contract in July that would have enabled crude oil futures to trade 24/7, pending an investigation into whether the offering met federal commodities law requirements.
Ondo Finance delivered three comment letters to the SEC and CFTC on Aug. 24, calling on US authorities to permit domestically traded perpetual futures contracts based on individual equities. The company contended that such products could function within the nation's current security futures regulatory framework without requiring new legislation.
The prediction-market operator's expansion into oil-based derivatives occurs while its core business confronts a distinct jurisdictional conflict concerning whether federal commodities legislation supersedes state gambling regulations targeting event contracts that trade on CFTC-supervised exchanges.
A Michigan state court granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that prohibits Kalshi from providing sports-linked event contracts within the state and mandates the company uphold geofencing technology that restricts Michigan residents from access.
New Jersey petitioned the US Supreme Court on Wednesday to settle the jurisdictional conflict following divergent rulings from federal appeals courts in matters involving New Jersey and Nevada.