Kalshi is pushing deeper into the world of regulated derivatives with plans to seek approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for a perpetual futures contract tied to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.
The proposed product would represent another major expansion for the prediction-market operator, which is increasingly positioning itself as a broader financial exchange rather than a platform focused exclusively on event contracts.
According to Reuters, Kalshi is preparing to file for approval of the WTI perpetual, potentially making it the first perpetual oil futures product offered through a regulated U.S. platform.
The proposed contracts would allow traders to maintain positions without the traditional expiration and rollover requirements associated with conventional futures. They could trade 24 hours a day, five days a week, while also providing leveraged exposure to movements in crude oil prices.
Register for the next Tekedia Mini-MBA.
Register for Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
The move follows Kalshi’s successful expansion into perpetual futures earlier this year. In May, the CFTC approved KalshiEX’s BTCPERP contract, a perpetual futures product referencing Bitcoin’s spot price.
The regulator determined that the contract complied with the Commodity Exchange Act and applicable CFTC regulations. The approval also opened the door for market participants to submit additional perpetual products for regulatory review.
WTI is a particularly significant target because it is one of the world’s most closely watched crude-oil benchmarks.
Oil prices influence inflation, transportation costs, industrial production and monetary policy, making WTI exposure relevant not only to energy traders but also to investors attempting to hedge broader macroeconomic risks.
Kalshi already has experience offering WTI-related event contracts. Its existing regulatory filings describe contracts based on whether the settlement price of WTI crude oil futures reaches specified levels by particular dates.
The proposed perpetual product would represent a substantial evolution from those binary-style contracts toward a more conventional continuous trading instrument. The timing is also notable.
The CFTC has been examining the regulatory framework surrounding perpetual contracts and around-the-clock commodity trading. Earlier efforts by CME Group to introduce 24/7 crude-oil futures encountered regulatory resistance.
While the CFTC has separately opened discussions around perpetual contracts involving physical or storable energy commodities. Securing approval would strengthen its argument that prediction-market infrastructure can evolve into a broader regulated derivatives marketplace.
The company has already filed proposals involving perpetual futures linked to other asset classes, including equities, foreign exchange and interest rates. Its August filing for equity-index perpetuals demonstrated its ambition to compete more directly with traditional financial exchanges.
However, the proposal will likely face significant scrutiny. Oil is a highly liquid and systemically important commodity, and regulators must consider leverage, market manipulation, price formation, liquidity and risk-management mechanisms.
Perpetual contracts introduce different risks from traditional futures because positions can remain open indefinitely. If approved, Kalshi’s WTI perpetual could nevertheless mark an important development in the convergence between prediction markets and conventional derivatives.
It would give traders a regulated U.S. venue for continuously managing directional exposure to crude oil without the mechanics of repeatedly rolling expiring futures. More broadly, the initiative reflects Kalshi’s transformation. Its original model centered on contracts tied to real-world events.
But its recent expansion suggests a much larger ambition: building a regulated marketplace where participants can express views on prices, economic indicators, financial assets and major events.
The proposed WTI perpetual is therefore more than another product launch. It is another step in Kalshi’s attempt to redefine what a modern financial exchange can look like.