The questions I get most often. Direct answers, no marketing copy.
Yes. Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market, the same regulatory category as CME and ICE. It is legal to trade in all 50 US states for users who pass KYC. The 2024 court ruling specifically affirmed Kalshi's right to list election-outcome contracts.
Customer funds are held in segregated accounts at FDIC-insured US banks, separate from Kalshi's operating capital. This is the same model required of futures brokers. Crypto-style platform-risk is not really an issue here, the regulatory framework was built around protecting customer funds.
Kalshi charges a per-contract trading fee that scales with contract price and the implied probability move. There is no withdrawal fee for ACH. The all-in cost on a typical trade ends up being noticeably higher than CME-style flat fees, and meaningfully higher than Polymarket's old fee structure. Always model fees into expected value before sizing a trade.
Kalshi is CFTC-regulated and US-legal. Polymarket is offshore and geofenced for US users. Polymarket uses USDC on Polygon, Kalshi uses USD via ACH. Polymarket historically had thicker liquidity on global political and crypto markets. Kalshi has thicker liquidity on US macro, election, and Fed-rate markets since the US user base consolidated there.
Some traders do, most do not. The markets are inefficient enough that an edge is possible if you have a real informational or modeling advantage. Most retail users lose money to fees, slippage, and bad position sizing. Treat any speculative market as risk capital you can afford to lose.
ACH withdrawals typically settle in 1-3 business days. The first withdrawal can take longer because of compliance review. Same-day withdrawals are not available. There is no withdrawal fee.
Yes. Profits on Kalshi are taxable. The exact treatment depends on contract type and your situation. Kalshi issues a 1099 form. Talk to a tax professional, especially if you trade actively, because event-contract tax treatment is not as well-trodden as stocks or futures.
At settlement, contracts on the winning side pay $1.00 each, contracts on the losing side pay $0. Settlement is determined by the rules listed in each market's contract specification, which references an external data source like a government release or recognized news outlet.
Yes. Kalshi has iOS and Android apps. The mobile app supports the full trading workflow but the order book view is more limited than the desktop version. For active position management I prefer desktop, the mobile app is fine for monitoring.
There is no enforced minimum deposit. You can fund an account with as little as a few dollars. Practical minimum to trade meaningfully is a few hundred dollars because of fee drag on small position sizes.
Yes. Kalshi has a REST API and WebSocket feed. You can pull market data, get quotes, place orders, and monitor positions programmatically. API access is available to all account holders, you do not need a special tier.
Legally no, structurally similar in some ways. Kalshi sports contracts are CFTC-regulated event derivatives, not state-licensed sports wagers. Pricing typically tracks sportsbook lines but settlement, taxes, and fees work differently. Liquidity on most sports markets is thinner than mainstream sportsbooks.
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