Market Structure
    Verified 2026-04-229 min read

    Prediction Markets × Perpetuals Launch Map

    Kalshi and Polymarket both announced perpetual futures, but the important questions are what is actually launching, what is still pending verification, and how these products differ from event contracts.

    Platforms

    2

    Comparison Rows

    7

    Primary Sources

    3

    FAQ Items

    5

    Quick Summary

    The key takeaway from this page

    This page is a primary-source launch map, not a hype thread. It tracks what Kalshi and Polymarket actually announced, what remains unverified, and why perpetuals are a different product from event contracts even when they appear under a familiar prediction-market brand.

    Our policy on this page

    Primary-source only, with pending claims clearly labeled

    Verification standard

    This page cites primary sources only: polymarket.com/perps, Kalshi's official launch materials, platform regulatory records, and CFTC.gov. No crypto-press wrappers. Leverage numbers are presented as ceilings, never as recommendations. Account access, launch dates, and collateral types are the platform's to set — we report, not endorse.

    Verification snapshot

    Updated 2026-04-22

    2 platforms tracked

    Some primary-source URLs or verbatim launch text are still pending direct verification.

    What's launching

    Platform-by-platform launch details, leverage ceilings, and verification notes

    Kalshi — Timeless
    announced

    Launch:
    2026-04-27 · New York, NY
    Assets:
    Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies (TBD at launch)
    Leverage ceiling:
    TBD — not yet disclosed by Kalshi
    Collateral:
    USD at launch; stablecoin support announced for Q2 2026
    Funding rate:
    TBD
    Geo access:
    CFTC DCM designation — US customers expected; exact retail vs. institutional access TBD
    Regulatory basis:
    Kalshi holds CFTC DCM + DCO designation + CFTC margin trading license (approved Mar 2026)Source: CFTC registry and platform records
    Primary-source URL and verbatim text pending direct verification. Signal: LinkedIn (Tarek Mansour).Announcement signal: A rotating torus video with the word "Timeless" and the date 4.27.2026, NY NYC
    What we do not know yet (4)
    • Exact fee schedule
    • Retail access at launch vs. institutional-only
    • Liquidation mechanics
    • Full asset list beyond BTC

    Polymarket — Polymarket Perps
    waitlist

    Launch:
    TBD — waitlist open as of April 21, 2026
    Assets:
    Bitcoin (BTC), Nvidia (NVDA), Gold (XAU), additional equities and commodities per Polymarket's announcement
    Leverage ceiling:
    up to 10x (per Polymarket's own announcement)
    Collateral:
    TBD — collateral details not yet published
    Funding rate:
    TBD
    Geo access:
    Polymarket has not specified US-facing vs. international-facing availability
    Regulatory basis:
    QCX LLC (Polymarket US) holds CFTC DCM designation (Jul 9, 2025)Source: CFTC registry and platform records
    Primary-source URL and verbatim text pending direct verification. Signal: Polymarket official announcement materials (Apr 21, 2026).Announcement signal: Polymarket announced perps and opened an early-access waitlist on Apr 21 2026.

    Waitlist: polymarket.com/perps

    What we do not know yet (5)
    • Launch date
    • Whether US retail has access at go-live
    • Fee schedule
    • Full asset list
    • Whether perps run on V2 infrastructure (Apr 28 cutover) or a separate stack

    Mechanics primer

    The core perpetuals concepts readers need before comparing products

    Perpetual = no expiration

    A perpetual future is a derivative contract with no fixed expiration date. The contract price tracks the underlying asset's spot price through a funding-rate mechanism.

    Funding rate

    A periodic payment between long and short positions that pulls the contract price toward spot. When the contract trades above spot, longs pay shorts; when below, shorts pay longs.

    Perp vs event contract

    Event contracts resolve to 0 or 1 at a fixed date based on a specific outcome. Perpetuals have no expiration, use continuous mark-to-market, and typically offer leverage (up to 10x at Polymarket; TBD at Kalshi).

    Perps vs event contracts

    A direct dimension-by-dimension comparison of the product mechanics

    DimensionEvent contractPerpetual future
    ExpirationResolves at a fixed dateNo expiration
    SettlementBinary (YES/NO)Continuous mark-to-market
    LeverageTypically none (1x)Up to 10x at Polymarket; Kalshi ceiling TBD
    CollateralFull cost of positionMargin-based
    Payout structureBounded 0 to 1Unbounded (long or short)
    Typical hold durationHours to months until resolutionAny duration, as long as funding and margin are maintained
    Typical userForecasters, hedgers, retail and institutionalTraders seeking leveraged directional exposure
    Expiration
    Event: Resolves at a fixed date
    Perp: No expiration
    Settlement
    Event: Binary (YES/NO)
    Perp: Continuous mark-to-market
    Leverage
    Event: Typically none (1x)
    Perp: Up to 10x at Polymarket; Kalshi ceiling TBD
    Collateral
    Event: Full cost of position
    Perp: Margin-based
    Payout structure
    Event: Bounded 0 to 1
    Perp: Unbounded (long or short)
    Typical hold duration
    Event: Hours to months until resolution
    Perp: Any duration, as long as funding and margin are maintained
    Typical user
    Event: Forecasters, hedgers, retail and institutional
    Perp: Traders seeking leveraged directional exposure

    What this page is not

    A launch map is not a recommendation, ranking, or trade prompt

    • This page does NOT recommend trading perpetual futures. Perps are a leveraged product with real liquidation risk.
    • This page does NOT predict which platform will win liquidity.
    • This page does NOT claim Kalshi's or Polymarket's existing event contracts are changing.
    • This page does NOT compare to Hyperliquid's HIP-4 outcome contracts — those are fully collateralized binary outcomes with no leverage, on a different chain, still on testnet.
    • This page does NOT speculate on whether a POLY token will be issued. Polymarket has not announced a token.
    • This page does NOT reproduce affiliate links or 'invite code' content from secondary sources.

    Risk and restraint

    The editorial guardrails for how leverage and access are described here

    • Leverage cuts both ways: a 10x position is liquidated on a ~10% adverse move before funding costs are considered.
    • Funding rates compound: even a break-even directional call can turn negative after hours of unfavorable funding payments.
    • '10x leverage on prediction markets' reads differently from centralized crypto perps: a CFTC DCM has margin rules the exchange enforces at the clearing layer, which is a different architecture than an offshore venue.
    • Retail access may differ from institutional access at launch — a published leverage ceiling does not mean every user sees that ceiling.
    • Waitlist ≠ live trading. The waitlist page signals product intent, not go-live.
    • Platform fees, margin requirements, and liquidation logic are the platform's to set and change — this page reports what's been announced, not what will hold at go-live.

    Our policy on this page

    The full editorial restraint contract that governs what gets rendered as fact

    1. Cite primary sources only: official product pages, platform launch materials, CFTC.gov, NFA records, and exchange/regulatory records. Secondary-press approved: Reuters, Bloomberg, WSJ, FT, NYT, AP, CNBC. Nothing else.
    2. Every leverage figure renders as a CEILING, never as a recommendation. Visible 'our policy' language.
    3. No characterization of perps as 'safe' or 'dangerous' in headline or subheadline.
    4. No affiliate links. No 'sign up' buttons for platforms. The only outbound links are primary sources and our related-reading pages.
    5. No speculation on whether Polymarket perps are US-accessible until Polymarket says so.
    6. No 'winner/loser' framing between Kalshi and Polymarket.
    7. If Kalshi's Apr 27 event materially changes the facts (new asset list, new leverage ceiling, new collateral type), update the JSON same-day and bump lastVerified.
    8. No price speculation on any asset (BTC, NVDA, gold). Mechanics only.

    Corrections and update log

    Changes to the source set, wording, or launch-state verification

    • 2026-04-22
      Page created. Both platforms' perps announcements fall within same 24-hour window (Apr 21). Primary-source URL and verbatim text fields are still awaiting direct verification; visible copy uses documented facts from announcement context.

    Primary sources

    Official URLs used for the launch map and the sources we intentionally exclude

    polymarket.com/perps (waitlist page)Kalshi LinkedIn video — Tarek Mansour, Apr 13 2026CFTC DCM registry

    We block 29 crypto-press wrapper and affiliate-farm domains from being cited on this page. If a secondary outlet syndicates a primary-source announcement we track, we link the primary source directly.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    5 common questions answered

    Related Resources

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