Payward to Offer On-Chain Perpetual Futures to U.S. Clients

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, plans to offer on-chain perpetual futures to customers in the United States. The product will let users trade perpetual swap contracts that settle and record activity on a blockchain.

Perpetual futures are derivative contracts without a fixed expiry date that let traders hold leveraged positions. Payward plans to use smart contracts to manage positions, settlements and funding-rate mechanics, and expects customer access to require standard identity verification and compliance checks. The rollout will depend on applicable U.S. regulatory approvals and state licensing.

The offering targets retail and institutional customers seeking derivatives exposure without relying solely on off-chain matching engines and custodial systems. On-chain contracts record trades and margin states on a public ledger, and smart contracts can execute liquidations and funding payments.

Payward plans to include risk controls such as margin requirements, position limits and automated liquidation settings to handle extreme price moves. The firm has not set a launch date and said the service will go live only after internal testing and securing required regulatory clearances.

Availability will vary by state depending on local licensing and whether commodity or securities rules apply. Customers will be required to complete know-your-customer checks and access will be restricted in jurisdictions where regulators prohibit the product.

Before opening the product, Payward intends to publish details on supported tokens, leverage caps, margin calculations, fee structures and the smart-contract operational procedures that will govern liquidations and dispute handling. It also plans to coordinate with wallet providers and on-chain infrastructure partners to support collateral movements and position monitoring.

On-chain perpetual futures can allow faster settlement finality for collateral movements and composability with other decentralized finance protocols. The structure also raises technical and security questions related to smart contract risk and on-chain liquidity.