Kalshi Review

My take

This Kalshi review covers the prediction market that took the regulated route: an exchange designated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where you buy “Yes” or “No” contracts on sports, Fed decisions, elections, weather and crypto prices, and a winning contract pays $1. You trade against other members, not the house. It serves US users and, by its own help centre, many other countries. The price of that legitimacy is paperwork: nothing works until a government ID has been checked.

Quick facts

First impressions

I’ll be upfront about what I could see. kalshi.com put my research tools behind a “Vercel Security Checkpoint”, and I don’t push past bot walls. So the home page, the fee schedule PDF and the Member Agreement were off limits. Everything below comes from Kalshi’s help centre, its developer docs and public market API, CFTC filings and court dockets.

Sign-up works like a brokerage. You must be 18, give your legal name, date of birth and home address, then photograph your physical licence or passport live in the app, sometimes with a selfie. The account is activated for deposits only after that. Trading runs 24/7 apart from a two-hour maintenance window on Thursday mornings.

Markets, fees & liquidity

Every contract pays $1 if its side wins and nothing if it loses, so the price reads as a probability. Kalshi says it has no stake in outcomes and earns only from fees. The public API lists 16 categories, from sports and economics to AI, weather and “Mentions”. Sports are the engine: reports on the Nevada ruling put them at 72 percent of volume through August 2026. Combos bundle several outcomes into one contract, priced by request-for-quote, with no guaranteed fill. The main October Fed strike was quoted 17 to 19 cents when I checked, with 185,000 contracts traded.

The fee schedule Kalshi filed with the CFTC sets the taker fee at 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the cent. For 100 contracts at 50 cents ($50) that is $1.75, or 3.5 percent; at 10 cents, $0.63. The API still tags almost all of its 14,700 series with that structure at full rate. About 160, including Fed and NFL markets, also charge makers a quarter of it. That costs more than Polymarket charges a sports taker, but less than the 4.5 percent inside a -110/-110 sportsbook line. Compare the field in my prediction markets list.

Resolution is centralised. Each market names its source, such as the Federal Reserve Board for rate contracts, and Kalshi’s markets team decides, one to twelve-plus hours after close. You can file a “request to settle”, but there is no bond and no token-holder vote. Read every market’s rules, not just its title.

Deposits, withdrawals & KYC

Kalshi takes crypto from US and international users. US deposits go through Zero Hash, which converts crypto to and from dollars; international ones through a separate provider. They usually land within 30 minutes. The help centre does not publish the supported coins and networks, which only appear in the logged-in deposit flow, so I can’t confirm them. In May 2025 The Block reported USDC, Bitcoin, Solana and Worldcoin. If you want to stay in a coin, my USDC list is a better start.

Crypto withdrawals are free and typically arrive within 30 minutes, but only after a prior crypto deposit. Card withdrawals are free and usually take a few hours; US bank withdrawals take a few business days. Card and bank deposits can be held up to two days after settlement if you withdraw another way. Card deposits may cost 2 percent. International users get card, wire and crypto; ACH, PayPal, Venmo and Cash App are US only. I haven’t run my own timed payout test here yet. It’s coming, and the tx hash will be on this page.

KYC is full. Kalshi says the CFTC may also require proof of address, employment information or source of funds, and US users may be asked for a Social Security number later.

Bonus: the real value

I found no public welcome bonus. The referral programme pays both sides once the friend verifies and trades, but amounts appear only in the app. US balances of $250 or more earn a variable 3.5 percent interest. With no published wagering terms, the wagering calculator has nothing to chew on.

Trust & reputation

The federal paper is solid. The CFTC designated KalshiEX as a contract market in November 2020. In 2024 a federal court sided with Kalshi against the CFTC over election contracts, and the CFTC moved to drop its appeal in 2025. The states are another fight. In April 2026 the Third Circuit upheld Kalshi’s injunction against New Jersey’s regulator, and New Jersey has gone to the US Supreme Court (No. 26-299). In late August 2026 the Ninth Circuit let Nevada enforce its gaming laws against Kalshi’s sports contracts.

Users are lukewarm. Trustpilot shows 2.7 from 378 reviews, 62 percent one-star, with withdrawal delays and account restrictions as recurring themes. Kalshi replies to about a third of negative reviews.

Who should use Kalshi

The US trader who wants event contracts on a federally regulated exchange, funded by bank, card or PayPal. For an offshore sportsbook instead, compare Bovada or my US-friendly list.

The macro and sports bettor who prefers a dollar account and an exchange that answers to a regulator.

Not for you if you want anonymity, live in a restricted country, or want bonuses; see my sites like Kalshi page.

Bottom line

Kalshi is the regulated, KYC-heavy way to trade on events, with fair fees and broad markets, and its biggest risk is the legal fight with US states; see Kalshi’s official site to check whether your country is eligible.