Kalshi seeks approval for perpetual oil-linked futures contract

Kalshi is preparing to file with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for approval of a never-expiring futures contract linked to West Texas Intermediate crude oil, a move that would create the first regulated perpetual oil futures product in the US. The filing is expected as soon as the week of September 8, 2026. From event contracts to oil barrels The proposed WTI perpetual futures contract would enable 24/5 trading, giving participants near-continuous access to oil price exposure without the hassle of rolling expiring contracts. Traditional oil futures, like those traded on the CME Group’s NYMEX, operate on monthly expiration cycles. Traders who want to maintain a position have to close out one contract and open another, a process that introduces costs and complexity. Perpetual futures eliminate that friction entirely. The contract never expires. Instead, it uses a funding rate mechanism to keep prices tethered to the underlying spot market. Kalshi launched its Bitcoin perpetual futures contract, BTCPERP, in late May 2026. That product has already accumulated $16.1 billion in notional trading volume by early July 2026. Udesh Jha, the company’s chief risk officer, has describ...