Kraken Brings CFTC-Regulated Perpetual Futures To US Traders

Kraken is bringing perpetual futures to eligible US traders through a regulated derivatives structure, and that is a notable shift for a product category that has usually lived outside the US market. The exchange said the product is offered through NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant. The contracts are listed on Bitnomial Exchange, LLC, a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market.

That structure is the point. Perpetual futures have been one of crypto’s most important trading products for years, but US users have largely been locked out of the offshore perpetuals market unless they used platforms they were not supposed to access. Kraken’s move gives eligible US traders a regulated route into a familiar derivatives format.

It does not mean unregulated perpetuals are suddenly legal in the US. It does not mean Kraken is launching a new spot product. It means one of crypto’s largest exchanges is trying to fit a historically offshore product into a US derivatives framework.

TL;DR Kraken has announced CFTC-regulated perpetual futures access for eligible US traders. The product runs through Kraken Derivatives US and Bitnomial Exchange. This is a regulated derivatives product, not spot trading or offshore-style unregulated perpetuals.

Why Perpetuals Matter So Much In Crypto Perpetual futures are one of the engines of crypto trading. Unlike standard futures contracts, perpetuals do not expire in the same way. Traders use them to take leveraged long or short positions, hedge spot exposure, manage basis trades, and speculate on price moves without constantly rolling contracts.

Outside the US, perpetuals are everywhere. They are central to liquidity on major offshore exchanges and decentralized derivatives platforms. In many cases, perpetual markets are where crypto price discovery happens fastest, especially during volatile periods.

That has left the US in an awkward position. American traders can acc