Kalshi is preparing to seek US regulatory approval to offer perpetual WTI crude oil contracts, sources say

Event-contract platforms seeking to list commodity-linked perpetuals follow a familiar pattern: CFTC-supervised venues have periodically tested the boundary between prediction-market style contracts and traditional futures, and approval outcomes have hinged on whether the contract is framed as hedging-relevant or predominantly retail speculation. The perpetual structure is notable: it mirrors the funding-rate mechanics of offshore crypto derivatives rather than the expiring, deliverable design of benchmark WTI futures, so it would sit alongside, not inside, the established crude complex. Prior episodes of this kind have played out slowly, with approval timelines, contract self-certification challenges, and potential objections from incumbent exchanges shaping the sequence more than the initial announcement. The actors matter: the platform has prior form in pushing novel contract categories through the US regulatory perimeter, sometimes through litigation rather than quiet negotiation. Worth watching is whether the filing lands as a self-certification or a formal approval request, any comment from the commission, and whether established energy venues respond. Any read-across to WTI liquidity or term structure is premature; established precedent is that new retail-facing crude instruments draw volume only at the margin relative to the benchmark complex.