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Kalshi is the first exchange in US history federally licensed to offer event contracts, regulated by the CFTC and funded with real dollars. No crypto, no complexity. Just straightforward prediction market trading.
Kalshi is a federally regulated exchange for event contracts: binary trades where you buy YES or NO on the outcome of real-world events. It received approval from the CFTC (the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission) in 2020 and launched publicly in 2021, becoming the first platform of its kind to operate legally within the United States.
Unlike Polymarket, Kalshi uses regular US dollars. You fund your account via bank transfer or debit card, with no cryptocurrency wallet required. Every contract pays $1 if your outcome is correct and $0 if it isn't. Kalshi is the broker and counterparty to all trades, which means positions are guaranteed by the platform rather than by peer liquidity.
Kalshi is available to US residents and is expanding internationally. Because it is regulated, it operates with standard financial services protections and a formal dispute resolution process, a meaningful difference for traders who prioritise security over breadth of access.
Regulation and simplicity are the foundation of Kalshi's offering. Here's what that means in practice.
Four straightforward steps. Because Kalshi is regulated, there's a brief identity verification, but it takes less than two minutes.
Using a promo code when you sign up? Our page on how the Kalshi promo code works sets out who is eligible, what Kalshi's own terms say, and the states where we show Kalshi offers.
Kalshi covers a focused set of high-quality categories. Economic and political markets are where its liquidity is strongest.
Both venues price the same way, and neither charges a percentage of your stake. The fee is Θ × contracts × price × (1 − price), so it is largest on contracts priced near 50¢ and falls away to almost nothing at the extremes. Because price × (1 − price) peaks at 0.25, the most any single contract can cost is Θ ÷ 4.
For every fee side by side, including Polymarket’s category rates and a worked example, see Kalshi vs Polymarket fees.
To compare the two venues on the same questions, with live prices and who can use each, see Kalshi vs Polymarket.
Makers are never charged on Polymarket offshore and are paid a rebate on Polymarket US once their monthly maker volume reaches $10 million; on Kalshi they pay on 101 of the 4,200 series with an open event (counted 2 October 2026) and not on the rest.
Polymarket exempts an entire category: geopolitics and world events are fee-free. Kalshi has no fee-free category; it has 11 individually fee-free series with an open event.
Correction, 2 October 2026. An earlier version of this page said Polymarket US's schedule took effect on 25 September 2026, that Kalshi charged makers on 10 of 723 open series, and that Kalshi had four fee-free series. Polymarket US's current schedule took effect on 1 October 2026. Kalshi charges makers on 101 of the 4,200 series with an open event and has 11 fee-free series, counted from Kalshi's own series data on 2 October 2026.
Polymarket's US and offshore products have different schedules, so a claim about "Polymarket's fee" that does not say which product is unanswerable rather than wrong.
Regulation brings significant advantages, but also some trade-offs compared to less restricted platforms.
Open an account on the first CFTC-regulated prediction market in US history. No crypto needed. Just link your bank and start trading in dollars.
Start Trading on KalshiPrediction market trading involves real financial risk. You can lose the full amount you stake on any contract. CFTC regulation does not guarantee profitable trading or protect against losses. Information on this page is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. iPredicta is independent of Kalshi. Always verify availability in your jurisdiction before signing up.