Kalshi launches perpetual contracts for BNB, Cardano, and other cryptocurrencies for U.S. traders

Kalshi has expanded its U.S. derivatives lineup by launching USD-margined, non-expiring perpetual contracts for BNB, Cardano, Worldcoin, Aave, and Venice Token. The launch triggered a 5% price jump and an 83% volume spike for BNB. This expansion occurs amid an intense legal battle, as the CFTC has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit by CME Group. CME argues that perpetual contracts are swaps rather than futures, while the CFTC asserts CME lacks standing to challenge the regulatory approvals.

Kalshi crypto perpetual expansion

• ▪The September 4, 2026 additions bring Kalshi's total cryptocurrency lineup to Bitcoin and 17 altcoin perpetual contracts, which are marketed under its 'American Perpetuals' product line.
• ▪The newly launched Kalshi perpetual contracts are margined and settled in U.S. dollars, have no expiration date, and allow traders to take long or short positions.
• ▪Maximum leverage for Kalshi's new perpetual contracts varies by asset, offering approximately 4.5 times leverage for BNB and 1.9 times leverage for Venice Token.
• ▪Kalshi expanded its cryptocurrency derivatives lineup on September 4, 2026, by launching perpetual contracts linked to BNB, Cardano (ADA), Worldcoin (WLD), Aave (AAVE), and Venice Token (VVV) for eligible U.S. traders.

CME lawsuit against CFTC

• ▪CME Group filed a lawsuit against the CFTC on June 18, 2026, seeking to overturn the regulator's May 29, 2026 approval of Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contracts.
• ▪CME Group argues in its lawsuit that cryptocurrency contracts without a fixed expiration date should be classified and regulated as swaps rather than conventional futures under the Commodity Exchange Act.

CFTC dismissal motion

• ▪The CFTC argues that CME Group lacks standing to sue because CME Group has not demonstrated concrete financial injury and remains free to list comparable digital commodity perpetual products on its own exchange.
• ▪The CFTC filed a motion in federal court on September 2, 2026, requesting the dismissal of CME Group's lawsuit challenging Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contracts.
• ▪Under the current litigation schedule, CME Group has until October 2, 2026, to file its opposition to the CFTC's dismissal motion.

Perpetual futures regulatory framework

• ▪The CFTC issued a request for public comment in June 2026 regarding 24/7 trading and perpetual contracts for physically delivered energy commodities, including crude oil.
• ▪The CFTC's May 29, 2026 policy allows designated contract markets to list perpetuals tied to digital commodities with deep, active, and continuous spot markets, while directing other assets to case-by-case reviews.
• ▪A June 2026 CFTC staff letter granted conditional regulatory relief allowing Coinbase Derivatives and Bitnomial to remove expiration dates from existing digital commodity contracts.

BNB market impact

• ▪Following Kalshi's perpetual contracts announcement, the price of BNB increased by over 5% to approximately $723.
• ▪The 24-hour trading volume for BNB spiked by 83% within 24 hours of Kalshi's perpetual contracts launch announcement.
• ▪Kalshi previously integrated BNB Smart Chain support in December 2025, allowing platform deposits and withdrawals in native BNB and stablecoins.

Trading volume growth

• ▪Global cryptocurrency perpetual futures trading volume reached approximately $61.7 trillion in 2025, representing a 29% increase from the previous year, according to CryptoQuant data.
• ▪Global cryptocurrency spot trading volume totaled $18.6 trillion during the 2025 calendar year, according to CryptoQuant data.

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