Polymarket Beats Wall Street to Market With Crude Oil Perpetuals

Polymarket has launched perpetual contracts on crude oil futures, offering up to 20x leverage and hourly funding payments. The product, called Polymarket Perps, is available offshore and allows traders to bet with borrowed money on Brent and WTI crude oil prices.

The launch of Polymarket Perps comes as a regulatory challenge for US-based exchanges, which are required to obtain approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before listing similar products. Kalshi, a US rival of Polymarket, is preparing to ask the CFTC for approval to list a WTI crude perpetual contract.

However, the CFTC has shown caution in regulating oil-linked perpetual contracts, with Chairman Michael S. Selig calling CME's attempt to self-certify a 24/7 crude oil futures contract 'wholly inappropriate.' The agency is still collecting public comments on 24/7 and perpetual futures trading.

Polymarket's decision to launch offshore allows the exchange to bypass US regulatory approval and demonstrate demand for the product before regulators have finished deciding how it should work at home. The company made its name on election bets and sports markets, but now it's letting traders bet with borrowed money on one of the world's most politically sensitive commodities.