Kalshi's precious metals perpetuals face 45-day CFTC review

Kalshi is pushing crypto-style perpetual futures into gold, silver and platinum, challenging CME Group's dominance in precious metals trading.

Kalshi filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer perpetual futures on gold, silver and platinum, expanding the crypto-native derivative structure into traditional commodities under a 45-day regulatory review.

"Perpetual contracts could provide lower costs and additional tools for managing risk," Udesh Jha, chief risk officer at Kalshi, said. The contracts would have no expiration date, allowing traders to maintain exposure without regularly rolling positions into new futures contracts.

The company plans to initially offer trading 24 hours a day from Monday through Friday, matching the operating hours of the underlying precious metals markets. Kalshi became the first regulated US venue permitted to offer crypto perpetuals in May, a decision that prompted CME Group to sue the CFTC in June, arguing the contracts should be classified as swaps rather than futures and subjected to stricter regulation.

The filing pits Kalshi directly against CME, which is launching continuous gold futures trading this week. The CFTC recently blocked a separate CME proposal for round-the-clock oil futures while continuing to review the exchange's application. Jha said perpetuals and traditional futures serve different market needs, arguing that perpetual contracts could provide lower costs for managing risk.

Perpetual futures originated in crypto markets and have become increasingly popular because they provide leveraged exposure without a fixed settlement date. Their prices are typically kept close to the underlying asset through periodic funding payments. Demand for perpetual contracts tied to traditional assets has grown as platforms such as Hyperliquid expanded into gold, oil and other real-world markets.

The products gained further attention during the Iran war, when crypto-based venues allowed traders to maintain exposure to oil while traditional futures markets were closed — a use case Kalshi's precious metals contracts could replicate for gold and silver traders.

Kalshi is also evaluating perpetual products tied to foreign exchange and equities, having previously identified metals, currencies and energy as areas with growing demand. The company's expansion into traditional asset classes represents a convergence of crypto-native financial engineering with regulated US markets.

Regulatory Battle Lines

The CME lawsuit, filed in June, argues that Kalshi's crypto perpetuals should be classified as swaps rather than futures, which would subject them to stricter regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act. Kalshi has said the lawsuit would not change its approach. The dispute comes as traditional exchanges respond to growing demand for extended trading hours, with CME's continuous gold futures launch this week placing it in direct competition with Kalshi's proposed products.

The CFTC's 45-day review window gives the regulator until early September to approve or reject the precious metals contracts. If approved, Kalshi would become the first US venue to offer regulated perpetual futures on both crypto and traditional commodities.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.