US Perpetual Futures

Perpetual futures are futures contracts with no expiration date, designed to be held long-term without the need to manage rollovers or time exits around monthly contract periods. They use a funding rate to keep the contract price in line with the spot market. See What is the funding rate? below.

Perpetual futures on Kraken Derivatives US are listed on Bitnomial Exchange. You access them through the same account and wallet you use for your CME futures, with no additional setup required.

The funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged between traders holding long and short positions. It keeps the perpetual futures price anchored to the spot price of the underlying asset, the same role that expiration plays in standard futures contracts.

How direction works:

• When the perpetual contract trades above spot, longs pay shorts
• When the perpetual contract trades below spot, shorts pay longs

This creates a natural corrective force. If most traders are long and pushing the price above spot, longs pay a fee that incentivizes more shorts to enter, pulling the price back toward spot.

When it settles:

The funding rate is calculated based on the difference between the perpetual contract price and the spot price. Payments are aggregated and settled as a single cash adjustment at 3:00 pm CT daily.

What it means for your balance:

Funding payments are aggregated throughout the day and applied as a single cash adjustment to your available balance at 3:00 pm CT daily. If your available balance is insufficient to cover a payment, the amount is drawn from your position margin. In strongly trending markets, funding rates can be significant, so factor this into your cost of holding a position, especially across multiple settlement windows, as elevated rates can accelerate your approach to the liquidation threshold.

You can see the current funding rate and the predicted next rate on the order form and in the contract details before placing a trade.

At launch, 16 perpetual futures contracts are available through Kraken Derivatives US:

• Perpetual Bitcoin US Dollar (PBTCUC)

• Perpetual AAVE US Dollar (PAVEUS)

• Perpetual Avalanche US Dollar (PAVXUD)

• Perpetual Bitcoin Cash US Dollar (PBCHUS)

• Perpetual Cardano US Dollar (PADAUK)

• Perpetual Chainlink US Dollar (PLNKUD)

• Perpetual Dogecoin US Dollar (PDOGUK)

• Perpetual Ether US Dollar (PETHUI)

• Perpetual Hedera US Dollar (PHBRUK)

• Perpetual Litecoin US Dollar (PLTCUS)

• Perpetual Polkadot US Dollar (PDOTUH)

• Perpetual Shiba Inu US Dollar (PSHBUN)

• Perpetual Solana US Dollar (PSOLUS)

• Perpetual Stellar Lumens US Dollar (PXLMUK)

• Perpetual Tezos US Dollar (PXTZUK)

• Perpetual XRP US Dollar (PXRPUH)

All contracts are quoted in USD. Kraken Derivatives US may add or remove contracts at any time based on liquidity, regulatory, or risk considerations. If a contract is removed, open positions will be closed prior to delisting. Kraken Derivatives US will make best efforts to provide notice where possible.

USD only at launch. Kraken Derivatives US may expand accepted collateral over time.

Each perpetual futures trade incurs the following fees:

• Exchange fee: Collected by Bitnomial Exchange
• NFA fee: Set by the National Futures Association
• Clearing fee: Covers transaction clearing
• Commission fee: Flat per-contract fee. See US Futures Fees for the full breakdown.

In addition, a funding rate is applied. This is the periodic payment between longs and shorts while a position is open. It is not a fee collected by the exchange, and it can be positive or negative depending on market conditions. See What is the funding rate? above.

All fees except the funding rate are shown in the order preview window before you confirm a trade. The current funding rate is always visible on the order form.

Perpetual futures trade 24/7, subject to scheduled maintenance windows. For a full breakdown of maintenance schedules and what to expect during each window, see Maintenance windows for US Perpetual Futures.

If your account equity drops below the maintenance margin threshold, your position may be liquidated automatically. A $10 liquidation fee applies if you are trading perpetual futures only. If you hold any other futures positions alongside your perpetual futures, the standard rate structure applies to all liquidation events in your account: $25 for the first, $50 for each subsequent event. See Liquidations for full details.

Note: if a funding payment cannot be covered by your available balance and draws down your position margin, this can accelerate your approach to the liquidation threshold. Monitor your available balance when rates are elevated.

For full details on how liquidations work, margin thresholds, and how to monitor your risk, see Liquidations.

If you have already unlocked US futures trading on Kraken Pro, you have access to perpetual futures, with no additional unlock required. Perpetual contracts appear in the market selector under the Perps tab, alongside your CME futures contracts.

If you have not unlocked futures yet, see How to unlock futures trading in the US for a step-by-step walkthrough.

Makelaarsdiensten worden geleverd door NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, handelend onder de naam Kraken Derivatives US, een Futures Commission Merchant geregistreerd bij de Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) en lid van de National Futures Association (NFA ID #0309379).

For more information, see the following articles:

• US Futures 101
• Contract Specifications
• US Futures Fees
• Maintenance windows for US Perpetual Futures
• Liquidations
• PnL Calculations