Kraken is introducing Kraken Perps, a new perpetual-contracts feature, as part of a broader push to bring more advanced trading tools to retail investors.
The development comes after the crypto exchange recently expanded its tokenized equities product, xStocks, reflecting its growing role in bridging traditional finance and blockchain.
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.
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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.