How Kalshi And Polymarket Are Trying Copy The Crypto Playbook

CNBC reports that prediction-market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are moving to offer perpetual futures (“perps”), a crypto-native derivative with no fixed expiry. The change could broaden access to high-leverage, continuous derivative trading beyond crypto-native venues, increasing liquidity and trading activity in BTC and other digital assets while also raising volatility and risk for retail participants. Mainstreaming perps may attract speculative flows and market-making capital but could prompt regulatory scrutiny given their leverage and complexity. Overall, the announcement is a product launch with mixed market implications: potential for deeper liquidity and price discovery, offset by higher short-term volatility and investor protection concerns.