Kalshi Seeks CFTC Approval for Perpetual Oil Contract
Kalshi, a prediction market, is preparing to file with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for approval of a perpetual futures contract tied to West Texas Intermediate crude oil. The filing, expected as early as next week, would seek approval for 24/5 trading. If cleared, it would be the first perpetual oil contract to trade on a regulated US exchange.
Perpetual futures carry no expiry date, allowing traders to hold a leveraged position indefinitely instead of closing it or rolling into the next delivery month. Kalshi has structured the contract to work around concerns raised by the CFTC in its review of round-the-clock futures trading and perpetual energy contracts.
The timing is significant, as crude oil traded near $93 on Wednesday after US strikes on Iran. This comes as Kalshi has separately filed for perpetuals on precious metals, a large-cap US equity index, copper, foreign exchange, and interest-rate contracts.