Kalshi launches live equity perpetual futures after CFTC approval

The author argues that prediction markets and perpetual futures do not fundamentally require blockchain to function, even though they maintain strong ties to the crypto industry. The piece suggests that while blockchain has successfully found product-market fit as financial rails for speculation and traditional finance, most value is captured by frontend platforms rather than the underlying onchain ecosystem. Consequently, the author contends that the blockchain industry must find ways to build applications where blockchain is genuinely indispensable beyond simple financial infrastructure. Open article →