Prediction-markets platform Kalshi plans to apply to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as early as next week to launch a perpetual futures contract tied to West Texas Intermediate oil, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. If approved, the product would be the first perpetual oil future traded on a regulated platform in the United States, bringing a derivatives format popular in cryptocurrency markets into the traditional energy sector.

The proposed contract would track the WTI benchmark and have no set expiration date, according to the source. Kalshi plans to make it available 24 hours a day, five days a week.

Perpetual contracts move into energy trading

Perpetual futures do not expire and allow traders to increase the leverage on individual positions. The contracts have become popular in cryptocurrency markets and were among the few instruments available to retail investors seeking to trade oil when traditional futures markets were closed during the war between Iran and Israel.

As the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran escalated, traders used perpetual derivatives on the Hyperliquid platform to trade oil, gold and silver around the clock. That activity highlighted a role for decentralized-finance platforms as tools for hedging geopolitical risk.

However, the rise of continuous markets has prompted debate about how weekend and after-hours trading may affect price discovery when the main trading sessions reopen.

Kalshi’s planned 24/5 schedule would differ from the continuous trading it offers for cryptocurrency perpetual contracts. The schedule is intended to address regulatory concerns raised in discussions about round-the-clock markets, according to the source.

Kalshi and CME dispute round-the-clock trading

Kalshi’s planned oil product comes amid a public dispute with CME over efforts to move traditional derivatives markets toward continuous trading.

In June, CME prepared a lawsuit against the CFTC after the regulator allowed Kalshi to launch similar perpetual contracts tied to cryptocurrencies. The CFTC later blocked CME’s proposal for round-the-clock trading in oil futures, although CME’s contracts, unlike Kalshi’s proposed product, would have had defined expiration dates.

The CFTC is reviewing CME’s halted proposal and consulting with oil companies and refiners. Accurate benchmark prices are critical for energy-market participants because they use those prices to value and move oil cargoes.

The review could determine whether oil markets join the broader shift toward a 24/5 trading schedule.

CME Group CEO Terry Duffy also recently clashed with CFTC Chair Mike Selig and Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopez Lara over prediction-market regulation. Duffy said such platforms were prone to manipulation and required tougher oversight, while Lopez Lara responded by asking whether CME had faced similar issues.

The debate also extends beyond derivatives. In September 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a roundtable on a possible move to around-the-clock stock trading. The regulator plans to discuss exchanges’ technical readiness, infrastructure resilience and investor protection, as well as the potential benefits and risks of continuous market operations.

Source: Incrypted