Kalshi Seeks to Launch Perpetual Futures for Precious Metals

By Dean Seal

Kalshi is asking regulators for permission to let users speculate on the price of gold, silver and platinum with a new kind of derivative contract that never expires.

The prediction-markets provider has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to start offering perpetual futures contracts linked to the spot price of precious metals.

The request comes after Kalshi got approval from the CFTC in May to launch the country's first set of perpetuals, which were linked to the price of cryptocurrencies. That approval now undergirds Kalshi's application to offer perpetuals on metals.

Unlike standard commodity futures contracts, perpetuals don't have expiration dates or physical delivery. Instead, they settle entirely in cash and can be traded outside of traditional market hours.

Perpetuals came into the spotlight earlier this year when a decentralized exchange, Hyperliquid, used them to bet on oil prices during the weekends while the standard arenas for trading oil contracts were closed. Hyperliquid isn't available to U.S. residents.

Kalshi's effort to launch perpetuals in the U.S. was challenged in a lawsuit last month by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The derivatives marketplaces alleges that perpetuals aren't actually futures contracts but instead act as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, which would mean they should be subject to stricter rules and blocked from retail traders.

Kalshi said in a filing on Tuesday that, contrary to the CME's contentions, contracts don't need a fixed expiration date to be legally classified as futures.

"Their disqualification from categorization as futures contracts on the basis of their indefinite duration cuts directly against established precedent," Kalshi told the CFTC.

Kalshi's filing gives the CFTC 45 days to approve or deny the request, though that timeline can be extended. The company said it intends to list the contract on a continuous basis shortly after the request gets agency approval.

A spokesperson for Kalshi declined to comment beyond what's contained in the filings.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 21, 2026 13:28 ET (17:28 GMT)