CFTC Clears Kalshi Bitcoin Perpetual; Coinbase’s Deribit Path

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on May 29 approved KalshiEX LLC’s no-expiry Bitcoin perpetual futures contract as a futures product under Section 5c(c)(4) of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission Regulation 40.3. The CFTC order permits a registered designated contract market to list a cash-settled perpetual tied to the CF Benchmarks Bitcoin Real Time Index. The contract will trade in units of 0.0001 BTC and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, subject to exchange halts.

The perpetual has no fixed expiration date. The contract uses periodic funding payments between long and short holders based on the difference between the contract’s mark price and the reference spot price. When the perpetual trades above the reference price, funding payments flow from long holders to short holders; when it trades below, payments flow from shorts to longs.

The Commission’s approval relies on Bitcoin’s market structure, citing a deep, continuous spot market across multiple venues that makes the reference price observable while the perpetual trades. The agency limited its analysis to BTCPERP and similarly structured contracts that reference Bitcoin or other digital commodities with comparable spot market depth. The order identifies the submission date as May 28 and the approval date as May 29.

Separately, CFTC Market Participants Division staff issued an interpretation and limited no-action position in response to a request from Coinbase Financial Markets. The staff letter says certain Deribit digital-commodity derivatives described by Coinbase may qualify as foreign futures under Regulation 30.1 when orders are routed through Coinbase’s registered futures commission merchant structure. The relief permits routing customer orders through Coinbase Bermuda Limited to Deribit FZE under specified conditions.

The staff relief addresses margining of customer-owned digital assets and payment stablecoins posted with the foreign broker, including circumstances where the foreign broker has a right to re-use those assets. The no-action position is tied to operational and disclosure requirements, affiliate controls, and limits on the use of customer assets, which staff say must be used only for margining or securing customer obligations. The Market Participants Division noted its positions are fact-specific, represent staff views rather than a Commission ruling, and may be modified, suspended or terminated.

The two actions carry different legal weight: Kalshi’s approval is a formal Commission order and a product-level determination, while the Coinbase relief is a staff-level, conditional path for supervised access to offshore derivatives. Coinbase has said institutional onboarding can begin immediately, that options on Deribit are available through its FCM, and that access to perpetual futures will follow with broader client availability later. Kalshi has said it intends to offer additional crypto perpetuals pending regulatory review.

Practical outcomes will depend on product launch terms, funding and margin mechanics, distribution through brokers, and whether the CFTC allows similar contracts for other digital commodities. The agency indicated contract design and market depth will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Future agency actions or congressional legislation could change legal or operational conditions for either path.