Kraken brings crypto perpetual futures to U.S. traders

The expansion relies on Kraken’s acquisition of Bitnomial, a CFTC-licensed derivatives platform held by parent company Payward. By consolidating spot, margin, and perpetual contracts under a single account, the exchange aims to eliminate the need for traders to manage capital across fragmented platforms. These perpetual contracts, which do not expire and require funding payments to keep prices aligned with underlying assets, accounted for over $61 trillion in global volume throughout 2025.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, noted that the unified structure simplifies trading strategies by allowing users to utilize the same collateral pool across various derivative positions. John Palmer, Kraken’s global head of derivatives, added that this setup resolves long-standing operational hurdles by centralizing management under one counterparty. This development mirrors a similar push by Coinbase, which recently secured approval to connect domestic users to global perpetual liquidity. As U.S. regulators continue to authorize these products, the landscape for crypto derivatives is shifting from offshore isolation toward a regulated, domestic framework.