Retail brokerage Webull will begin offering cryptocurrency perpetual futures to eligible U.S. customers in November 2026, using Kalshi’s CFTC-regulated designated contract market, KalshiEX LLC, and clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear LLC.
The initial rollout will include Bitcoin and other selected digital assets, with broader accessibility expected within a few months and plans to expand coverage before the end of the year. Eligible traders must be approved for futures accounts on Webull.
The move creates a regulated onshore alternative to offshore venues and emerging perpetual decentralized exchanges. It follows the CFTC’s May 29 approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin BTCPERP contract, while other assets require case-by-case review.
Industry volumes highlight the scale of the market. CoinGecko estimated global centralized perpetual trading at $85.3 trillion, while a Stanford and Columbia university study reported $61.7 trillion in worldwide perpetual volume for the same year. Binance alone processed about $25 trillion in perpetual volume in 2025, up 20%.
However, the product classification remains legally contested. CME filed a lawsuit against the CFTC on June 18, arguing perpetual contracts without expiry should be classified as swaps rather than futures. The CFTC asked the court on October 16 to reject the suit, citing a lack of evidence of imminent competition harm.
Risk concerns are also central. CME CEO Terry Duffy warned that leverage ratios as high as 50-to-1 and automatic liquidation may cause severe losses. A Hyperliquid study found retail traders using its front-end lost $1.11 billion over 15 months, while market makers earned $208 million and trading fees accounted for $725 million of those losses. Researchers also reported approximately $150 billion in crypto derivatives liquidations during 2025, including more than $19 billion on October 10 alone.
Whether Webull can attract liquidity and traders away from offshore platforms remains the central question, but the launch represents a notable step toward regulated U.S. crypto derivatives access.
