Kalshi seeks approval for gold perpetuals amid Robinhood competition

Kalshi is pursuing approval to launch gold, foreign exchange, and energy perpetual futures as competition with Robinhood intensifies. The prediction markets platform is in advanced discussions with U.S. regulators to introduce these contracts, expanding its strategy from crypto markets. The proposal includes contracts linked to precious metals, foreign exchange, and energy, with plans to evaluate perpetual products tied to stock indices and individual equities. Perpetual contracts, unlike traditional futures, have no expiration date, allowing traders to maintain positions without rolling them over. Kalshi has already generated approximately 16100 million dollars in trading volume from its crypto perpetual futures. Kalshi's Chief Risk Officer Udesh Jha noted that customer demand is influencing the product roadmap, with gold identified as a strong candidate for expansion due to interest from retail and institutional traders. The company is also looking at foreign exchange, metals, and energy markets, driven by geopolitical events and seasonal trading patterns. This expansion occurs amid increasing scrutiny of prediction markets, as Google plans to prohibit browser extensions facilitating real-money transactions on predictive outcomes starting August 1, 2026. Kalshi's regulatory push positions it against Robinhood, which recently introduced multi-asset perpetual futures through Bitstamp and is expanding its crypto infrastructure. If approved, Kalshi's products could enhance competition in the regulated perpetual futures market as both companies explore commodities, currencies, equities, and digital assets.