Kraken Pro Adds U.S. Perpetual Futures via Bitnomial

Kraken Pro began offering perpetual futures to eligible U.S. traders on June 15 through Bitnomial, the CFTC‑licensed derivatives unit owned by Payward. The Cheyenne, Wyoming‑based exchange said the integration lets clients trade spot, margin, traditional futures and perpetuals from a single account.

Perpetual futures, commonly called perps, are derivative contracts with no expiry date. They do not require traders to roll positions when a contract would otherwise expire. Funding rates move payments between long and short positions to keep perp prices close to spot markets; longs typically pay shorts when the perp trades above spot, and shorts pay longs when it trades below. Traders gain on long positions if the underlying price rises and on short positions if it falls.

Kraken reported that perpetuals accounted for more than $60 trillion in global trading volume in 2025. Bitnomial holds U.S. licenses that cover exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage functions, which Payward said provides the legal framework to offer perpetuals inside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s jurisdiction.

Qualified Kraken Pro users can hold spot, margin, futures and perpetual positions in one account and use a single pool of collateral across futures and perps, reducing the need to transfer funds between venues. Kraken has said availability depends on user eligibility and local rules; perpetuals on Kraken Pro are available only to eligible U.S. clients.

Arjun Sethi, co‑CEO of Payward and Kraken, described the change as consolidating the trading stack, saying “Spot, margin, futures and now perpetuals all live in the same account at Kraken,” and adding that traders are better off dealing with “one trusted venue than a dozen they have to manage.” John Palmer, Kraken’s global head of derivatives, framed the launch as a solution to fragmented trading, noting “For traders, the friction was never just getting access to perpetuals, but being forced to hold them on one venue and the rest of the book on another.”

Kraken highlighted risks associated with perpetuals and leverage. The exchange warned that high leverage can magnify losses and that a trader using 10x leverage on bitcoin can face rapid liquidation from relatively small price moves. Payward acquired Bitnomial earlier this year; Kraken and Payward say the offering provides an onshore alternative to offshore venues for U.S. users seeking continuous exposure to crypto assets.