Announcement
Polymarket announced the launch of perpetual futures contracts that will trade continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new offering expands the platform’s product suite to include crypto, equities, and commodity assets such as gold and silver.
Contract Details
The rollout features two never‑expiring (perpetual) futures contracts tied to the major oil benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Both contracts provide traders with up to 20 times leverage across all asset classes covered by the platform. Polymarket states that its perpetual futures market delivers the deepest liquidity and the lowest transaction fees among comparable venues.
Market Context
At the time of publication, spot and futures price movements for key commodities were as follows: Gold Spot (USD) + 1.93 %, Silver Spot (USD) + 2.52 %, Brent Spot (USD) + 0.23 %, WTI Crude (USD) + 0.69 %, Brent Futures (USD) + 1.42 %, Gold Futures (GC) + 2.39 %, Silver Futures (SI) + 3.24 %, Crude Oil Futures (CL) + 0.69 %. These price snapshots illustrate the broader market environment into which the perpetual contracts are being introduced.
Competitive Landscape
The launch comes one day after reports that rival platform Kalshi Inc. is seeking regulatory clearance for its own perpetual futures contract linked to WTI crude. If Kalshi obtains approval, it would become the first such contract to trade on a regulated U.S. exchange.
Regulatory and Market Considerations
Perpetual futures, by virtue of their never‑expiring structure, have attracted scrutiny regarding their potential impact on price discovery in the underlying physical markets. Trading venues, including Polymarket, are competing to provide round‑the‑clock access to commodity derivatives, prompting ongoing discussions among regulators about market integrity and investor protection.