Kalshi Launches Gold, Silver Perpetual Futures After Securing CFTC Approval

U.S. prediction-market platform Kalshi has launched perpetual futures tied to gold and silver prices.

CNBC reported on September 10 that Kalshi recently received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to list gold and silver perpetual futures and began trading the products the same day. Kalshi had applied to the CFTC in July for approval to launch the contracts.

Udesh Jha, chief risk officer at KalshiClear, Kalshi's clearinghouse, said the company selected gold and silver for its next perpetual futures product because of strong investor demand for the metals. "Precious metals, especially gold and silver, offer a compelling investment case related to inflation," Jha said.

That demand had already shown up in Kalshi's commodity-related prediction market contracts. Cumulative trading volume in commodity-based prediction contracts tied to metals and crude oil topped $400 million within seven months of launch. That was about half the time it took crypto-based prediction market contracts to reach the same volume.

Kalshi began offering crypto perpetual futures in the U.S. after securing CFTC approval for the products in May. The company said cumulative notional trading volume in crypto perpetual futures has reached $44 billion.

Separately, Kalshi applied in August for approval to launch perpetual futures based on U.S. stock indexes, copper and foreign exchange.