Kraken’s Game-Changer: Perpetual Contracts Revolutionize Crypto Trading for Retail Investors

Kraken just dropped a bombshell that reshapes retail crypto access—perpetual contracts hit the platform, stripping away complexity for everyday traders.

No Expiry, No Problem

Forget rolling contracts or timing nightmares. These perpetuals let traders hold positions indefinitely—bypassing traditional futures limitations while maintaining leverage up to 50x. Kraken's move directly challenges institutional dominance by democratizing sophisticated instruments.

Liquidity Meets Accessibility

Built-in funding mechanisms automate position maintenance, eliminating manual oversight. Tight spreads and deep liquidity pools slash entry barriers—finally giving retail traders firepower comparable to hedge funds.

Because nothing says 'financial innovation' like letting amateurs gamble with leverage traditionally reserved for professionals who pretend to know what they're doing.

Perps for the everyday investors

With the launch of Kraken Perps, short for perpetual contracts, eligible clients in select regions can now speculate on crypto price movements without owning the underlying asset.

Unlike traditional futures, these contracts do not expire, so traders can hold long or short positions indefinitely, increasing or decreasing their exposure as their conviction changes.

The feature is built into Kraken’s main app, distinct from its more advanced “Pro” platform. It launches with USD collateral support and includes built-in protections such as customizable stop-loss orders.

Kraken said the goal is to make derivative trading more intuitive and accessible, though it emphasized that the instruments carry significant risk and are not suitable for everyone.

Tokenized equities expansion

In addition to derivatives, Kraken has been growing its presence in tokenized stocks through xStocks, a product built with Swiss partner Backed.

The exchange recently extended the service to eligible clients across the EU, giving investors access to more than 60 tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs, including Tesla, Amazon, and Nvidia.

Since its international launch earlier this year, xStocks’ trading volume across centralized and decentralized venues has already surpassed $3.5 billion.

The program offers advantages such as extended trading hours, blockchain settlement, and the ability to self-custody tokenized shares. Originally built on Solana, the service has expanded to other blockchains, including BNB and TRON, with ethereum integration underway.