Kalshi targets gold perpetual contracts and competes fiercely with Robinhood

Kalshi accelerates its entry into the regulated perpetual futures market and applies to launch gold, foreign exchange and energy contracts

Kalshi is seeking regulatory approval to launch gold, foreign exchange and energy perpetual futures contracts, and its competition with Robinhood has expanded beyond the cryptocurrency space into a wider range of asset classes.

Summary

Kalshi is seeking approval to launch gold, foreign exchange and energy perpetual futures. The move would put Kalshi in direct competition with Robinhood, both of whom are expanding their regulated derivatives business. In addition, Google will ban the Prediction Market extension in the Chrome Web App Store starting August 1.

It is reported that the forecasting market platform is in in-depth consultations with U.S. regulators and plans to launch perpetual futures linked to traditional assets, thereby extending the strategy it first adopted in the cryptocurrency market to a wider field. The proposal covers contracts related to precious metals, foreign exchange and energy, while the company is also evaluating future launches of sustainable products linked to stock indices and individual stocks.

Unlike traditional futures, perpetual contracts have no expiration date and traders can hold them for a long time without having to extend their positions. Kalshi has become one of the first regulated platforms in the United States to launch cryptocurrency perpetual futures, and these products have reportedly generated approximately US$16.1 billion in trading volume.

Gold becomes Kalshi\'s priority expansion market

Comments from Udesh Jha, Kalshi\'s chief risk officer, suggest that customer needs are shaping the platform\'s product roadmap. Jha listed gold as one of the categories most likely to expand because it attracts interest from both retail and institutional traders. He also pointed to the foreign exchange, metals and energy markets as attractive sectors, noting that geopolitical events and seasonal trading patterns continue to create demand for these asset classes. These factors reportedly prompted Kalshi to look beyond digital assets within the regulated derivatives market.

The expansion comes as the company is still coping with increasingly stringent regulatory scrutiny in the forecast market. Earlier this month, Google updated its Chrome Online App Store developer program policy to ban browser extensions that facilitate real-currency trading on forecast results. The revised rules will take effect on August 1, 2026, when non-compliant extensions may be removed from the Chrome Web Store. The policy change follows escalating legal and regulatory disputes over event contracts and related state gambling laws involving platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

Robinhood continues to expand across asset classes

Kalshi\'s recent regulatory advancement has made it more direct in competing with Robinhood. Robinhood has been expanding significantly beyond its traditional brokerage business. Earlier this month, Robinhood launched multi-asset perpetual futures through Bitstamp, allowing eligible customers to use a single mortgage pool to trade cryptocurrencies, commodities, stock indices and foreign exchange. Industry reports also noted that the company is seeking to launch perpetual futures in the United States, subject to regulatory approval.

Robinhood is also strengthening its cryptocurrency infrastructure. According to reports, within eight days of Robinhood Chain\'s launch, Uniswap\'s daily transaction volume reached US$500 million. This Arbitrum-based network has locked in a total value of more than US$106 million, making it one of the more active decentralized financial ecosystems.

If regulators approve Kalshi\'s proposed products, the regulated perpetual futures market could become more competitive as both companies are expanding into commodities, currencies, stocks and digital assets within regulatory frameworks. For Kalshi, starting in gold and other high-volume markets will allow it to leverage the momentum of the cryptocurrency perpetual futures business while serving traders seeking exposure to diversified assets.