Polymarket Just Beat Kalshi to Launch Perpetual Futures — Here’s What That Means for Traders – CoinCentral

TLDR

• Polymarket launched perpetual futures trading on April 21, letting users go long or short on prediction markets 24/7
• Rival Kalshi plans its own perps product, codenamed “Timeless,” launching April 27 in New York
• Kalshi’s product will include crypto perpetual futures, putting it in competition with Coinbase and Robinhood
• Prediction market transactions hit an all-time record of 192 million in March 2026
• Both platforms are racing to dominate derivatives trading as crypto trading volume has slowed

Prediction markets platform Polymarket announced perpetual futures trading on April 21, allowing users to take leveraged positions on prediction market outcomes at any time of day.

🚨POLYMARKET LAUNCHES PERPETUAL FUTURES

Polymarket announced the rollout of perpetual futures, expanding beyond prediction markets into new trading products. pic.twitter.com/GU4QJG15mO

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) April 21, 2026

The move came just hours after reports surfaced that rival Kalshi plans to launch its own perpetual futures product, codenamed “Timeless,” on April 27 in New York.

Perpetual futures, or “perps,” are futures contracts that never expire. Traders can hold leveraged positions and exit whenever they want, as long as they have enough funds to keep the position open.

Polymarket described its new product as a way to “go long or short the markets you know 24/7.” The platform is built on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains and settles trades in USDC.

The company has not confirmed whether its perps will include crypto assets specifically. But its user base has historically been driven by crypto traders.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour first teased “Timeless” on April 13 with a cryptic video that revealed the April 27 launch date. Kalshi’s version will include crypto perpetual futures, which puts it in more direct competition with Coinbase and Robinhood.

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Both Coinbase and Robinhood added prediction market features in the past year. Coinbase also spent $2.9 billion to acquire crypto derivatives exchange Deribit, the largest M&A deal in crypto history.

A Fast-Growing Market

Prediction market activity has been rising fast. Transactions across the sector surpassed 192 million in March 2026, an all-time record.

Kalshi is now valued at $11 billion and processes over $100 billion in annualized trading volume. Polymarket is valued at $9 billion, with weekly notional volume consistently above $1 billion through Q1 2026.

In 2025, top centralized crypto exchanges recorded $86.2 trillion in annual perps volume, up 47% from the prior year, according to CoinGecko.

Perps have long been popular outside the U.S. as a way to speculate on short-term price moves, hedge positions, and use leverage in any market condition.

Competition Heats Up

The timing of Polymarket’s announcement appears deliberate. By going public before Kalshi’s planned launch, the platform may be trying to get early traction with traders and liquidity providers.

Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi commented when asked by reporters.

The two platforms have been growing fast. Their expansion into perps is happening as crypto prices have stalled and spot trading activity has slowed.

Perps can generate trading volume even in flat markets, which may be part of the appeal for both companies right now.

Kalshi’s “Timeless” product is scheduled to launch on April 27.