Kalshi Seeks CFTC Approval for XRP and Shiba Inu Perpetual Futures in U.S. Market

Leading prediction market and trading platform Kalshi has filed with the CFTC to launch perpetual futures tied to Shiba Inu and XRP. 

The development follows the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s approval of Bitcoin perpetual futures contract last week. 

Key Points

• Kalshi filed with the CFTC to introduce perpetual futures contracts tied to XRP and Shiba Inu.
• The filing follows the recent approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract by the CFTC.
• Each XRP perpetual futures contract would represent one XRP, providing direct exposure to the token’s price movements.
• Each Shiba Inu perpetual futures contract would represent 1,000,000 SHIB tokens.
• Although Kalshi has listed both XRP and SHIB contracts as certified on the CFTC website, neither product has received final approval for live trading.

Kalshi Targets Perpetual Futures for XRP and Shiba Inu 

In a notable move, Kalshi submitted several filings with the CFTC to self-certify multiple crypto-related perpetual futures contracts. The filing includes support for multiple digital assets, including XRP, Solana, Stellar, Shiba Inu, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

Among the listed assets, XRP and Shiba Inu drew significant attention because of their highly active investor communities.

Meanwhile, Kalshi outlined the structure of the proposed Shiba Inu and XRP perpetual futures contracts, showing how traders could gain regulated exposure to the price movements of both tokens in the U.S. market.

Kalshi’s Shiba Inu Filing 

For Shiba Inu, the contract’s underlying asset is the spot price of SHIB in U.S. dollars. According to the filing, the CF Shiba Inu-Dollar Spot Rate will serve as the official pricing benchmark.

The SHIB perpetual futures contract would trade continuously, operating 24/7 with a trading unit of 1 million SHIB per contract. In addition, prices would be quoted in U.S. dollars per SHIB, while the minimum price increment would be set at $0.0000000001.

Kalshi further detailed the contract’s funding mechanism, which is designed to keep perpetual futures prices aligned with the spot market. The exchange would calculate funding rates every eight hours at fixed intervals. Depending on market conditions, long traders could pay short traders or vice versa.

Moreover, the exchange established a $5 million position accountability level, highlighting risk management measures for large participants.

XRP Filing 

Similarly, Kalshi disclosed that XRP’s contract would track the coin’s spot market price in U.S. dollars. The CME CF XRP-Dollar Real Time Index would act as the official pricing benchmark.

Like the SHIB product, the XRP perpetual futures contract would trade around the clock. Each contract would represent one XRP, with prices quoted directly in U.S. dollars per token.

Kalshi also set the minimum price movement for XRP at $0.0001, with each tick movement carrying the same $0.0001 value per contract. The accountability level for the XRP perpetual futures product is also set at $5 million. 

Trading Remains Pending  

For context, perpetual futures are derivatives contracts that allow traders to speculate on an asset’s future price without an expiration date. Although Kalshi listed the Shiba Inu and XRP perpetual futures contracts as certified on the CFTC website, regulators have not yet approved them for trading. 

Following the approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract, the CFTC signaled that it would take a cautious, case-by-case approach toward approving perpetual futures tied to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin.

The regulator stressed that not every asset class is suitable for perpetual futures products, indicating that officials will individually review each proposed contract before approving.