By Kalshi View Editorial Team · Snapshot captured July 17, 2026 at 13:35:44 UTC

Photo: Daniel Brzdęk / Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License.

5 Most Active Kalshi Markets: A 69,863-Market API Snapshot

The five rows

Contract counts are fixed-point API values, so fractional quantities are preserved. Prices and sizes are point-in-time top-of-book fields returned with the market records. The table does not include deeper order-book levels.

How the snapshot was built

1. Request GET /trade-api/v2/markets with status=open, mve_filter=exclude and limit=1000.
2. Follow each returned cursor until it is empty. The capture required 70 pages.
3. Parse contract counts with decimal arithmetic, not binary floats.
4. Sort all 69,863 rows by volume_24h_fp descending, then ticker ascending for a deterministic tie-break.
5. Preserve the top five market fields, YES bid/ask prices and sizes, observation time, method and limitations.

The local builder is scripts/build_active_markets_snapshot.py. It reads only the public API and writes the JSON artifact; it does not trade, deploy or post externally. A new run creates a new point-in-time observation rather than silently claiming the old ranking remains current.

Why this is not a “most liquid” ranking

Liquidity is conditional on the side, quantity and price boundary of a particular order. Reported volume measures earlier transactions. Open interest measures outstanding exposure. Neither is the quantity currently available to a new buyer or seller.

This dataset adds the best displayed YES bid and ask sizes, but even those are incomplete. An order larger than the first level may reach worse prices. Displayed orders can be canceled before execution. A proper execution check must walk the current book for the intended quantity and calculate the weighted average fill.

Kalshi's changelog says the former liquidity and liquidity_dollars fields are deprecated and return zero. The builder intentionally ignores them.

What the data actually shows

Sports dominated this observation

All five rows were sports-related at capture time. That directly contradicts the retired legacy article, which named Fed, CPI, GDP and political categories without a dated dataset. A “right now” article must be regenerated from current evidence, not kept as an evergreen category list.

Five markets did not mean five independent events

Rows one and two belonged to the same men's World Cup event. Rows four and five belonged to the same Open Championship event. Ranking market tickers individually can concentrate the list in a small number of event clusters.

Top-level size was asymmetric

The first-ranked Argentina contract displayed only 4.15 contracts at the best YES bid versus 17,221.10 at the best YES ask. That does not make one direction “correct”; it demonstrates why a small spread alone cannot describe the amount executable in both directions.

Prior activity did not guarantee a current two-sided market

The fifth-ranked Matt Fitzpatrick contract reported 2,279,044.66 contracts of 24-hour volume but no displayed YES bid. The API still returned a 0.10¢ YES ask with 94,554.44 contracts. With no positive bid, the dataset leaves spread as null instead of inventing one.

How to use the snapshot safely

• Use it as evidence about one timestamp, not a live market recommendation.
• Refresh the API immediately before making a current comparison.
• Open the exact market and read its rule and settlement source.
• Inspect deeper price levels for the intended size.
• Calculate spread, slippage, fee and maximum loss separately.
• Group related tickers when the question is event-level concentration.

For a reusable live-screening process, see how to find active Kalshi markets. For YES/NO price conversion and depth arithmetic, use the order-book guide.

Frequently asked questions

What were the five most active Kalshi markets in this snapshot?

At 13:35:44 UTC on July 17, 2026, the five highest volume_24h_fp values among 69,863 scanned open non-MVE markets belonged to Argentina and Spain men's World Cup winner contracts, an Argentina 3-2 final-score contract, and Collin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick Open Championship winner contracts.

Are these the five most liquid Kalshi markets?

Not necessarily. This is a complete activity ranking by reported 24-hour volume. Executable liquidity depends on the current spread and available size for a particular side and quantity. The snapshot preserves only the best displayed YES bid and ask levels.

Why can a high-volume Kalshi market have no two-sided YES quote?

Volume reports prior transactions during a period, while a quote reports current resting interest. Traders can cancel or consume orders after volume occurs. In this snapshot, the fifth-ranked market had a one-sided YES top of book at capture time.

What does top-of-book size mean in this dataset?

It is the quantity displayed at the best YES bid or best YES ask returned by the market-list API at capture time. It does not include deeper price levels and does not promise that the quantity will remain available.

How often should an active-market snapshot be refreshed?

Refresh immediately before using it for a current-market decision. Volume, quotes and open markets change continuously. This dated file is research evidence for one moment, not a live screener.

Not financial advice. This independent site is not affiliated with Kalshi Inc. The snapshot is historical research, not a live quote or recommendation. Event-contract trading involves risk, including loss of the amount paid.