Kalshi

What Kalshi does

Kalshi operates the first federally regulated prediction market in the United States, structured as a CFTC-designated contract market (DCM) since November 2020. The platform enables users to trade event contracts on real-world outcomes spanning elections, sports, politics, economics, crypto, commodities, climate, and culture. The core technology stack is KalshiEX (the DCM exchange) supported by Kalshi Klear, a proprietary CFTC-approved clearinghouse that provides faster settlement, expedited market listings, and offers 3.75% APY on user balances. Kalshi has extended its product surface into CFTC-regulated perpetual futures contracts for cryptocurrencies — the first US platform authorized to do so — and has applied to expand into gold, foreign exchange, and energy markets. The platform also exposes a Python-based API (docs.kalshi.com) and offers an institutional portal.

Kalshi generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on user trading activity, reporting $263.5 million in fee revenue for FY2025. Distribution is hybrid: self-serve direct-to-consumer (web and mobile, 18+ in most US states) is augmented by brokerage channel partnerships (Robinhood, Webull, Plus500, Coinbase) and institutional integrations such as the Tradeweb Markets strategic partnership and minority investment, which embeds Kalshi's real-time event probabilities into rates and credit trading infrastructure. The customer base spans roughly 5.1 million retail traders, professional trading desks using the dedicated institutional portal, and enterprise compliance buyers (via the StarCompliance monitoring solution). Geographic reach spans 140+ countries, though US state-level restrictions persist (notably Minnesota, California, Washington, Louisiana, Montana, Kentucky).

Growth has been event-driven and capital-intensive. Weekly notional volume exceeded $1 billion, with June 2026 FIFA World Cup activity alone generating over $31 billion in notional volume (up 87% month-over-month). The company has raised over $2.3 billion in late 2025 and 2026, with valuation compounding from $5 billion (Series D, November 2025) to $11 billion (Series E, December 2025) to $22 billion (Series F, March 2026), placing Kalshi above DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment on market capitalization. Major risks include active state-level enforcement actions in multiple US states, an EU regulatory warning under MiFID II on binary event contracts, and high-profile institutional pushback (Goldman Sachs banning employee trading). The company is pursuing federal preemption litigation with CFTC support as a make-or-break strategic pillar.

Name

Kalshi

Legal name

Kalshi Inc.

Website

https://kalshi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated prediction market exchange founded in 2018 that lets retail traders, institutional desks, and brokerage partners trade event contracts and perpetual futures on real-world outcomes across sports, elections, economics, and crypto.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prediction Market Exchange

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Prediction Markets & Event Derivatives (Crypto) (FSADAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Derivatives Trading Venues (perps, futures, options) (FSAPADAE), Perpetual Futures (Perps) Venues & Protocols (FSADAGAA)

Keywords

• Prediction markets
• Event contracts trading
• Perpetual futures
• Regulated derivatives exchange
• CFTC-regulated trading

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Trading/Transaction Fees: Kalshi generates revenue primarily through fees on user trades. The company generated $263.5 million in fee revenue in 2025. Weekly trading volumes exceeded $1 billion, with June 2026 notional volume reaching $31 billion.
2. Institutional Data & Analytics: Strategic partnership with Tradeweb Markets includes integration of real-time event probabilities into Tradeweb's rates and credit marketplaces, along with co-developing analytics tools for macroeconomic and policy outcome trading.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kalshi operates a CFTC-regulated prediction market exchange that lets users trade binary event contracts on real-world outcomes spanning sports, elections, economics, crypto, commodities, climate, and culture. The platform also offers leveraged perpetual futures contracts on crypto and traditional assets and runs a proprietary clearinghouse (Kalshi Klear) that settles trades and pays 3.75% APY on user balances.

Product overview

Kalshi operates a unified prediction market and derivatives exchange platform. The core infrastructure is KalshiEX, a CFTC-designated contract market (DCM) that powers all trading activities. The primary product, Kalshi Markets, enables users to trade event contracts on real-world outcomes spanning elections, sports, politics, economics, crypto, commodities, climate, culture, and finance. Complementary to this, Kalshi Perpetual Futures offers leveraged, non-expiring derivative contracts in cryptocurrency and traditional assets. The platform provides institutional access infrastructure for professional trading and integrates with Tradeweb for institutional distribution. A proprietary clearinghouse (Kalshi Klear) enables faster settlements, while enterprise compliance tools (Prediction Markets Monitoring with StarCompliance) support financial institution oversight.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kalshi Markets The primary prediction market platform enabling users to buy and sell contracts on real-world event outcomes across sports, politics, elections, economics, crypto, commodities, climate, culture, and finance categories.
• Kalshi Perpetual Futures Never-expiring leveraged derivatives contracts for cryptocurrency (with support for up to 2.2x leverage) and applied for expansion into precious metals, foreign exchange, and energy markets.
• KalshiEX The CFTC-designated contract market (DCM) exchange infrastructure powering Kalshi's prediction market operations, providing the regulatory foundation for the federally regulated event-contract exchange.
• Kalshi Klear A proprietary CFTC-approved clearinghouse enabling faster settlements, quicker market listings, and offering 3.75% APY interest on user holdings.
• Kalshi API Developer API providing endpoints for market data retrieval, portfolio management, and order execution, enabling third-party applications and trading systems to integrate with Kalshi's platform.
• Kalshi Institutions Dedicated institutional portal providing professional trading infrastructure, services, and API access for institutional investors, hedge funds, and professional trading desks.
• Tradeweb Institutional Integration Integration layer enabling Tradeweb's rates and credit marketplace users to access Kalshi's real-time event probabilities and market data, with co-developed analytics tools for macroeconomic and policy outcome trading.
• Prediction Markets Monitoring Enterprise-grade compliance solution developed in partnership with StarCompliance, enabling financial institutions to monitor and oversee employee activity on Kalshi prediction markets amid insider trading concerns.

Quantifiable outcome

• $263.5 million in fee revenue in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, minor and flagship.

• CNBCcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 July 2026Multi-year marketing deal as part of Kalshi's systematic trust-building strategy. CNBC provides institutional credibility signal to financial audiences.
• NHLcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 July 2026Partnership to transfer institutional trust and engage sports fans with prediction markets. One of several sports league partnerships built over the past year.
• Madison Square GardencoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 July 2026Partnership for sports engagement and market development, providing credibility with New York audiences and sports ecosystem.
• StarCompliancestrategicTechnology or Integration · 8 July 2026Partnership to develop an enterprise-grade Prediction Markets Monitoring solution for financial institutions to monitor employee trading on prediction market platforms amid insider trading concerns.
• ADI PredictstreetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026Strategic partnership for FIFA World Cup 2026 including co-branded World Cup hub and infrastructure integration through ADI Chain. Plans to explore Web3 product applications, stablecoins, and on-chain settlement across international markets.
• Forme ScienceminorOthers · 2 July 2026E-commerce brand using Kalshi prediction markets to hedge promotional risk. Forme offers 100% cashback if Team USA reaches World Cup Final, hedged via PlayAbly using Kalshi.
• Tradeweb MarketscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Strategic partnership including minority investment. Collaboration aims to enhance institutional access to prediction market data, integrate real-time event probabilities into Tradeweb's trading platforms, and develop new analytics and portals for macroeconomic and policy outcome trading.
• RobinhoodcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEvent contract distribution partnership. Robinhood offers Kalshi-powered prediction markets to its users and reported 320% year-over-year growth in event contract revenue.
• CNNcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlanning a partnership with CNN for market expansion and mainstream visibility. Part of trust-building strategy with major media outlets.
• Luana (Lopes Lara)flagshipOthersCo-founder alongside Tarek Mansour. Deliberately designed co-founder dynamics with balanced perspectives essential for navigating company-building uncertainties in regulated financial markets.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Polymarket: The leading crypto-native prediction market competitor to Kalshi, offering event-based binary contracts on similar real-world outcomes (politics, sports, economics) and serving as the primary alternative venue, especially for non-US users.
• Robinhood: Both a distribution partner and a competitive threat — Robinhood resells Kalshi event contracts but also operates its own prediction-market and derivatives products, targeting the same retail trader base with commission-free trading infrastructure.
• Coinbase: US-regulated crypto exchange that distributes Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual futures and also offers competing crypto derivatives and prediction-market products, overlapping with Kalshi on crypto event contracts and institutional digital-asset trading.

Broad incumbents

• DraftKings: A publicly traded US sports betting and online gambling incumbent whose sportsbook overlaps with Kalshi's sports-event contracts from a demand-side perspective, though it operates under state gaming licenses rather than CFTC jurisdiction.
• Flutter Entertainment (FanDuel): Global sports betting and online gaming leader (parent of FanDuel), often cited alongside Kalshi as a public-market comparable; competes for the same event-driven consumer wallet share and has been used as a valuation benchmark for Kalshi's $22B round.
• CME Group: The dominant US-regulated derivatives exchange operator — provides a structural template for what a federally regulated Kalshi could become at scale, and competes for institutional flow in interest-rate, FX, and commodity derivatives Kalshi is expanding into.
• Interactive Brokers: A global multi-asset brokerage serving institutional and retail derivatives traders with broad futures, options, and event-like product coverage; comparable in customer base and API-driven distribution strategy to Kalshi's institutional portal.
• Betfair (Flutter division): A global exchange-style sports betting platform within Flutter, where users trade against each other on outcomes — the closest international precedent for an exchange (rather than house-bookmaker) model applied to event outcomes, paralleling Kalshi's DCM structure.

Emerging players

• Augur: An early decentralized, on-chain prediction market protocol — overlaps with Kalshi on event-based trading but uses blockchain rails rather than a CFTC-regulated central exchange; represents the DeFi-style alternative Kalshi's regulatory posture explicitly rejects.

Others

• Tradeweb Markets: A global institutional electronic trading platform for rates, credit, and derivatives that is simultaneously a strategic minority investor in Kalshi and a distribution partner integrating Kalshi's event probabilities — comparable as an institutional venue where Kalshi's data layer is being embedded.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kalshi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kalshi

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds15 records

Investors36 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kalshi