TL;DR
- Kalshi is seeking CFTC approval for COPPERPERP, a cash-settled copper perpetual with no expiration.
- The contract would reference Pyth Network’s copper price feed and expand Kalshi’s derivatives lineup beyond digital assets.
- The filing follows the regulator’s May approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual and comes alongside a separate proposal for perpetual exposure to a U.S. large-cap stock index.
Kalshi filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on August 18 to list a perpetual futures contract linked to copper, extending its derivatives push beyond event-based markets. The proposed product would use Pyth Network’s XCU-USD price feed and remain open-ended, giving traders a crypto-style way to gain long or short exposure to a major industrial commodity.
Kalshi Targets Copper Perpetual Futures
The COPPERPERP filing would track the spot price of copper in U.S. dollars per pound without requiring delivery of the underlying metal. Like other perpetual contracts, it would not have a fixed maturity date. Funding payments between long and short positions are designed to keep the contract aligned with the referenced spot price.
That structure is familiar to crypto traders, where perpetual futures have become a major trading tool for gaining leveraged exposure without directly holding an asset. Kalshi is bringing that market design into a federally regulated U.S. derivatives venue. The CFTC approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual in May under the Commodity Exchange Act, establishing a regulatory precedent for the exchange’s expansion.
Digital-asset infrastructure is also supporting traditional financial products. Pyth Network aggregates pricing from exchanges, market makers and financial institutions, providing the reference data for the proposed copper contract.
Copper Adds A Strategic Real-World Asset
Copper gives Kalshi exposure to a commodity linked to electrification, construction, electric vehicles, power infrastructure and AI data centers. Data-center investment has increased attention on copper supply, while miners view the metal as a growth priority.
The proposed product would enter an established market. Copper futures already trade on CME’s COMEX, the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Kalshi would instead offer another route to copper price exposure through a perpetual format, potentially making the asset more accessible to traders already familiar with crypto-style derivatives.
Kalshi is broadening its lineup. It has filed for a perpetual contract tied to the MerQube US Large Cap Index, while Polymarket has discussed adding perpetual futures. The trend points to growing interest in bringing crypto-native trading structures into regulated markets for commodities and traditional financial assets.
