Checked September 25, 2026 · 40 terms · 81 dated sources · not financial advice
Plain-English definitions of 40 terms you meet on Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated exchange for event contracts: from Yes and No prices and the order book to fees, settlement, deposits and 1099 forms. Each term has a worked example where it helps, what to check before you trade, and dated links to Kalshi's help center, rulebook and API documentation, the CFTC or the IRS.
1099 tax forms: IRS information returns Kalshi issues to users who meet IRS reporting thresholds: 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, 1099-B and 1099-DA, each for a different item.
A
Arbitrage: Trying to lock in a profit from mismatched prices, such as between related Kalshi markets or between Kalshi and another venue, whatever the outcome.
B
Bid and ask: The bid is the highest price a buyer offers and the ask the lowest price a seller accepts; on Kalshi a No bid at 30¢ is a Yes ask at 70¢.
Bid-ask spread: The gap between the best bid and best ask in a Kalshi market; crossing it costs money, so a 2¢ spread on a 44¢ contract is about 4.5%.
C
Cash balance: The cash in your Kalshi account available to trade, including realized gains; unlike portfolio value it does not move with market prices.
CFTC: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US federal agency that regulates derivatives markets; it designated Kalshi as a contract market in 2020.
Close time: When trading in a Kalshi market stops; after it, orders are rejected and resting orders are canceled while the market awaits its result.
Collateral: The cash set aside to cover the most a Kalshi position can lose; event contracts are fully collateralized, so you pay the full cost up front.
Combo (multivariate market): A Kalshi market that bundles several outcomes into one position, priced by request for quote, paying $1 per contract only if every leg wins.
D
Deposit: Adding money to Kalshi by bank transfer (ACH), debit card, wire, crypto, PayPal, Venmo or Cash App; most methods have a $10 minimum, wires $1,000.
Derivatives clearing organization (DCO): A CFTC-registered clearinghouse that stands between buyers and sellers and settles their trades; Kalshi's is its affiliate, Kalshi Klear LLC.
Designated contract market (DCM): An exchange the CFTC has designated to list futures, options or swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act; KalshiEX LLC has been one since 2020.
E
Early close: When a Kalshi market stops trading before its scheduled close because the outcome is already known, as its rules allow; payout follows determination.
Event: A group of related Kalshi markets about one question or occasion, such as all price strikes for one date; each event belongs to a series.
Event contract: A contract that pays a fixed amount, $1 on Kalshi, if a stated event happens and nothing if it does not; its price reflects the market's odds.
Expiration: The time set in a Kalshi contract's terms when its expiration value is read from the source; it can differ from the time trading closes.
F
Fee multiplier: A number set per Kalshi series that scales its fee calculation, so the same order can pay a different fee in a different series.
H
Hedging: Buying an event contract that pays if something bad for you happens, to offset part of a loss elsewhere, such as rain ruining a planned trip.
I
Implied probability: The chance of an outcome implied by its price: a Yes contract at 62¢ implies about a 62% chance, before fees and the bid-ask spread.
L
Limit order: An order to buy or sell at your price or better; on Kalshi any part that does not match right away rests on the order book until filled or canceled.
Liquidity: How easily you can buy or sell a Kalshi contract near the quoted price; deep order books and tight spreads mean good liquidity.
M
Maker and taker: The maker posts an order that waits in the book; the taker trades against it. Kalshi charges takers its trading fee, makers only on listed series.
Maker fee: A fee Kalshi charges on resting orders that later execute, only in series listed with maker fees; canceling a resting order is free.
Market: One yes-or-no contract inside a Kalshi event, such as "Above 3.10" in a gas price event, with its own ticker, order book, prices and rules.
Market maker: A trader, often a firm in Kalshi's program, that keeps posting both bids and asks so others can trade, earning the spread and program benefits.
Market order: Kalshi's Quick Order: buy a set number of contracts right away at the best prices available, which can fill across several price levels.
Market rules and contract terms: The binding terms of a Kalshi market: what is measured, the source, the timeline and when it pays, all under the KalshiEX rulebook.
O
Open interest: The number of Kalshi contracts in a market that are still held open, not yet closed out or settled; it rises when new positions are opened.
Order book: The live list of resting orders in a Kalshi market, with prices and quantities on each side; trades happen when a new order matches one.
P
Position: The contracts you hold in a Kalshi market, Yes or No, with your average price, current value and payout if it resolves your way.
R
Range (bracket) market: A Kalshi event split into brackets, like daily high temperature ranges with "or above" and "or below" ends, where one reading lands in one bracket.
Resting order: A limit order, or its unfilled part, waiting in a Kalshi order book; it fills only when someone trades against it and can be canceled at no cost.
S
Settlement: The step after a Kalshi market's result is determined, when each winning contract is paid $1 into your cash balance.
Settlement source: The official data source a Kalshi market's rules name to decide the result, such as the BLS for CPI or the National Weather Service for daily highs.
Strike: The threshold or range a Kalshi market is built on, such as "above 3.10" for gas prices; each strike in an event is its own market.
T
Taker fee: The trading fee Kalshi charges on an order that matches right away against resting orders; it varies with price, contract count and series.
Ticker: The short code Kalshi uses to identify a series, event or market, like KXHIGHNY, KXHIGHNY-24JAN01 and KXHIGHNY-24JAN01-T60.
V
Volume: The number of Kalshi contracts traded in a market over a period, such as the last 24 hours or its whole life, counted in contracts, not dollars.
W
Withdrawal: Moving cash out of Kalshi by bank, debit card, crypto, PayPal or Venmo; Kalshi lists no fee on these methods, but recent deposits can be on hold.
Y
Yes and No prices: The prices of the two sides of a Kalshi market; the winning side pays $1, so a Yes price of 70¢ pairs with a No price of about 30¢.
How this glossary was researched
Every definition was written from sources opened on September 25, 2026: Kalshi's help center, its rulebook, member agreement, contract terms and API documentation, CFTC pages and IRS form pages. Kalshi-specific facts that could not be checked in a primary source were left out. Each term page lists its sources with the date they were published, updated or read.