The exchange joins rivals in pursuing U.S. approval for BTC and ETH perpetual contracts amid growing institutional demand.
Kraken has filed for regulatory approval to offer BTC and ETH perpetual futures contracts in the U.S., according to a confidential CFTC application. The move follows recent approvals for KalshiEX and Coinbase’s Deribit platform, which launched BTC perpetuals for institutional clients last week.
The CFTC and SEC signaled in September plans to facilitate onshore trading of perpetual futures, which have largely operated offshore due to regulatory constraints. Deribit, acquired by Coinbase in August 2025, remains the largest crypto options exchange by open interest.
No immediate market reaction was reported, though the filing underscores accelerating competition among exchanges to capture institutional demand for regulated crypto derivatives.