Kalshi Files and Withdraws PEPE Perpetual Futures Contract
Pepe (PEPE)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
CoinGape.com reports that prediction market Kalshi filed with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to launch perpetual futures contracts tied to the PEPE meme coin. The platform self-certified the KPEPEPERP contract for initial listing, intending to list it on a continuous basis. This cash-settled perpetual has no fixed expiration and involves no delivery of tokens.
Kalshi specified details including the kPEPE spot price underlying and CF Benchmarks as the price index. The filing occurred on October 1, the same day Uniswap perpetual futures were approved and listed. However, Kalshi withdrew the filing just two days later for undisclosed reasons.
The platform framed the product as a hedge for holders with real exposure to PEPE, including liquidity providers and market makers. This move follows the CFTC's approval of S&P 500 stock index perp, expanding Kalshi’s offerings beyond crypto and metal futures. PEPE coin price dropped more than 3% to $0.00000435 over the past 24 hours. Trading volume also dropped more than 20% in that period despite a 20% monthly rally.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for PEPE, measured when this story was written up on 6 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio data shows PEPE trading at $0.000004390 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 53.6%, indicating immediate short-term buying interest. This contrasts with a 4-hour buy ratio of 38.7%, suggesting that buying pressure is fading over a slightly longer timeframe. The 24-hour buy ratio sits at 48.9%, showing a near-even split between buyers and sellers over the full day. Volume delta is positive at +$91,007 for the hour but negative at -$1,131,237 for the 4-hour window. This means recent trades are slightly net-buying, but the broader 4-hour flow is net-selling. Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) for the 24-hour close is -$1,609,484, confirming that sellers have dominated the day's total volume.
The latest daily buy ratio of 50.9% sits at the 72nd percentile of the last 323 days, against a median of 49.4% - stronger buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for PEPE, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
The current 24-hour buy ratio of 48.9% is slightly below the 7-day average of 49.7%, indicating a marginally less bullish day than usual. Spot volume of $27,716,101 is lower than the weekly average, reflecting reduced activity. Net buying occurred in only 10 of the last 24 hours, compared to 4 days of net buying in the preceding week. The price change of +4.3% over 8 days shows a modest weekly gain despite the recent dip. Volume delta over the 8-day period totals -$3,126,373, showing sustained selling pressure over the week.