What is Kalshi?
As a market prediction platform, Kalshi offers players a user-centric peer-to-peer model where players place orders on Yes/No shares that predict the outcome of events. Every option is based on a clear binary outcome with the pricing reflecting the probability of the outcome. You can see the likelihood of an outcome based on the price of each share; $0.01 represents the least likely outcome whereas a price of $0.99 represents the most likely outcome.
People trade on Kalshi because, unlike a traditional sports book, there's no house edge. All the odds are based on how others are trading.
Kalshi also has the benefit of being the first prediction market to be fully regulated by the CFTC meaning it's a trustworthy platform under state oversight.
Welcome Bonus & Promo Code
New players can get a $10 welcome bonus in all US states (except OH and NJ) after you trade your first 100 contracts as long as you use our promo code BONUSFINDER at sign-up. To claim the bonus you must buy or sell a Yes or No to a prediction with a price between $0 and $1. Once you've traded $100, the bonus will automatically show in your account. If you don't enter it as you sign up you should be able to contact customer support to get a manual credit.
How Does Kalshi Work?
Here's how you use Kalshi's trading platform, step-by-step.
- Sign up using our promo code
- Browse the market categories (Economics, Politics, Culture etc.)
- Assess the price (probability): If a "Yes" contract costs $0.60, the market believes there is a 60% chance of that happening. If "No" has $0.40, that represents a 40% chance that won't happen
- Place your trade
- Keep an eye on your trade; you can opt for an early exit before the event happens to lock in profits or losses
- If you hold onto the contract until it closes, the outcome of the event will determine your profit or loss and the results will be credit to your account
Available Markets at Kalshi
Kalshi currently has the broadest market options available at any US prediction platform. You can make predictions on a staggering amount of markets. Below are a few examples.
Economics
Within the Economics section at Kalshi, you can take out contracts on daily prediction or annual events. For example, you can predict the rate of inflation, decisions made by the Fed, employment rates and the decisions made by large companies. You can also predict the rise and fall of crypto currencies and even the price of oil.
Politics
The prediction markets for Kalshi allows you to trade on political outcomes, such as Congressional decisions, the actions of Trump (whether he will visit China before or after a certain date, for example), Scotus outcomes and even geopolitical outcomes surrounding Iran.
Sports
Sports options are huge at Kalshi. You can find a huge amount of market options similar to those you'd find at a conventional sports book but without the house edge, which is always a factor with given odds. Current sports markets include Tennis, Cricket, Golf, Soccer, Football, MMA and Boxing.
Culture
You can make trades on the outcome of TV shows like Survivor along with how new movie releases will rank on Rotten Tomatoes. You can predict the week's top Netflix movie, or how a new album release will do in sales.
Other categories include Commodities, Climate, Economics, Mentions, Companies, Financials and Tech & Science.
Platform Review
Kalshi's UI is incredibly user-friendly, with a clear and responsive layout that is easy to navigate. Categories are clearly delineated. For increased legitimacy, there is a Trust section clearly laying out their policies and regulatory information. For by-the-minute markets, you can head to the Live section, which gives you events to trade on as they are happening.
Trading is simple. You simply click on the outcome and enter the amount you'd like to trade. You can see the market volume below the event and how many markets are active for that particular event.
Kalshi is also accessible through mobile browsers along with an iOS and Android app, all of which work well and provide the same experience that you'd get on the desktop website.
Deposits & Payments
Unlike Polymarket, Kalshi is a fiat-only platform. They accept payments made by debit card, ACH bank transfer, PayPal and Venmo. You can deposit for as little as $1 and payouts are completed in as little as 90 seconds.
Legal Status & Regulation
Kalshi started in 2020 and under an officially obtained license as a Designated Contract Market (DCM), meaning it was under the same regulation as major financial institutions. Its rapid expansion into other markets such as election and sports outcomes meant caused severe federal regulations to be implemented, including:
- Federal Oversight: Offerings are classified as "swaps" or "event contracts" under the Commodity Exchange Act
- Financial Guardrails: Kalshi is required to enforce 23 CFTC Core Principles, mandating transparency, systemic risk mitigation, security of capital and market surveillance
- User Funds: All customer funds are held in US clearinghouses, which protects against default or counterparty fraud
Kalshi was also the source of a landmark court case against the CFTC, setting a precedent for election predictions. In 2024, the CFTC tried to ban Kalshi from listing political contracts by arguing they could be harmful to public interest as well as amounting to gaming. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled in Kalshi's favor, claiming an overreach of CFTC authority.
This means that technically, what Kalshi offers is legally distinct from gambling under federal law, allowing them to operate nationally.
Pros & Cons
Kalshi vs Competitors
| Feature | Kalshi | Polymarket | Crypto.com Predictions | OG Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Bonus | $10 Bonus | Dep. $10, Get $20 | Up to $150 | $50 Bonus |
| CFTC Regulated | Yes (DCM) | Yes (DCM) | No | No |
| Crypto Required | No (Fiat) | Yes (USDC etc.) | Yes | No |
| Min. Deposit | $1 | $10 | $10 | TBD |
| Payout Speed | As fast as 90 sec | Within 24 hours | Within 24 hours | Within 24 hours |
| Market Categories | Politics, economics, sports, weather, crypto, culture | Sports (beta); more coming | Crypto, sports, culture | Crypto, sports |
| Full US Access | Most states | Beta only (invite) | Partial | Limited |
| Desktop Access | Yes | Mobile only | Yes | Yes |
| Deposit Methods | Debit, ACH, PayPal, Venmo | USDC, BTC, ETH, SOL, Polygon | Crypto only | Fiat |
| App Model | Order Book (P2P) | Order Book (P2P) | Order Book | Order Book |
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