Two of the largest speculative market platforms in the United States are set to enter the crypto derivatives space within days of each other, marking a change in the way these platforms compete for traders.
Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market with a value of 11 billion dollars, will launch its permanent cryptocurrency futures on April 27 in New York City. The company teased the product under the code name “Timeless” — a name that reflects the key feature of the contract: no expiration date . CEO Tarek Mansour revealed the launch date in a private LinkedIn video in the shape of a rotating torus. Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies are expected at launch, with US dollars as the first accepted security.
Hours before that announcement spread across the crypto media on April 21, rival Polymarket made its own move. The platform, which has a value of 9 billion, announced the launch of permanent futures trading today on X, which allows users to go long or short on market outcomes that predict day and night without waiting for the event contracts to expire. The timing didn’t happen by chance. Polymarket pitched its product as a way to “go long or short the markets you know 24/7,” in a direct bid to gain ground ahead of Kalshi’s April 27 event.
Perpetual crypto contracts
The mechanics of perpetual futures differ from standard event contracts. Traders can hold positions in asset prices without owning the underlying token, and the funding level keeps the contract price in line with prevailing markets.
For Kalshi, the product represents its first venture beyond event-based binary contracts. In Polymarket, it adds a continuous trading layer to the platform that operates on a settlement-based model.
Both platforms posted strong numbers heading into this product race. Forecast market sales reached a record of 192 million in March 2026. Kalshi reported monthly crypto trading volumes above 1 billion in March for the first time, based on user-collected data from Dune Analytics. Kalshi processes more than $100 billion in annual trading volume, while Polymarket reports a weekly opinion volume of more than $1 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
Kalshi’s regulatory position under the CFTC gives it a structural advantage over onshore derivatives platforms. The chairman of the CFTC said that the agency plans to bring the future under its supervision, a development that would favor regulated areas. Kalshi also plans to launch stablecoin collateral for its perpetual products in the second quarter.
NY sues prediction market makers
Earlier today, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against Coinbase and Gemini, alleging that their market prediction platforms operate as unlicensed gambling services under state law. The lawsuits allege that the platforms allow betting on event outcomes without proper approval and can expose young users to financial risk.
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