Kalshi just did something no one else has managed on US soil: launch regulated cryptocurrency perpetual futures contracts. The prediction market platform, already overseen by the CFTC, debuted its BTCPERP contract on May 29, and the market responded with enthusiasm that bordered on frenzy. Over $100 million in notional volume traded in the first 24 hours alone.
Within one week, that figure surpassed $1 billion.
The CME pushback
CME Group CEO Terry Duffy went public with his concerns on June 4, calling Kalshi’s perpetual contracts “a disaster waiting to happen.” His argument centers on two points: the products look more like swaps than futures, and the leverage levels, which can reach 50x or more, pose serious risks to retail traders.
The distinction between a future and a swap isn’t just semantic. It determines which regulatory regime applies, what kind of investor protections kick in, and who gets to offer the product. Traditional futures have expiration dates. Perpetual contracts don’t. They use a funding rate mechanism to keep prices tethered to the spot market. Duffy’s critique is that perpetuals structurally resemble swaps, which carry different regulatory requirements under the Commodity Exchange Act. If the CFTC were to reclassify them, it could upend Kalshi’s entire product line overnight.
