Kalshi's proposed perpetual WTI contract would trade 24 hours a day, five days a week, after a 45-day regulatory review. Polymarket's Shayne Coplan said the company is exploring an asset with "real programmable utility."
Kalshi and Polymarket each pointed toward products beyond event contracts on Wednesday.
Kalshi has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to list a crude oil contract with no expiration date, tied to West Texas Intermediate. The contract would trade 24 hours a day, five days a week, and would be subject to a 45-day review period.
What a perpetual contract is
Traditional futures expire on a set date, and traders who want to keep a position must roll it into a later contract. A perpetual contract has no expiry. Its price is typically kept close to the underlying market through periodic payments between long and short holders. The structure is widely used on crypto exchanges, and a perpetual on a physical commodity listed on a CFTC-regulated venue would bring it into a market where oil traders already use expiring futures.
The filing comes as crude prices sit near $88 a barrel for WTI and $100 for Brent, with a tropical storm threatening Gulf Coast production. There is no indication the filing was timed to either.
Polymarket's token question
At the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan said the company has no token. He said it is "exploring an onchain asset" that would have "real programmable utility." He gave no name, structure or date.
Polymarket's own market on whether it will launch a token fell to about 17% after his remarks.
Different directions
The two moves point in different directions. Kalshi is building inside the CFTC framework with a product that looks like a futures contract, while Polymarket is weighing a crypto-native asset. Both reach beyond the event contracts that state regulators in Ohio, Missouri and elsewhere are trying to restrict.
Two views
One reading is that the leading platforms are diversifying into products, such as commodity perpetuals and on-chain assets, that sit outside the sports and election contracts drawing state challenges.
Another reading is that neither move is final. Kalshi's contract needs to clear its review, and Polymarket has described an idea, not a product, with no launch date.
The review clock
The CFTC's 45-day review will determine whether the Kalshi contract can list. Any formal announcement from Polymarket naming the asset and its function is the next marker on that side.