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What is a market maker on Kalshi?

Checked September 25, 2026 · 5 sources · plain-English definition, not financial advice

How it works on Kalshi

Kalshi's help center says market makers provide liquidity so people can easily enter and exit positions, make money by collecting the spread between the bid and the ask, and generally have no view on whether a price should rise or fall. Kalshi runs a program of designated market makers who agree to provide consistent, two-sided liquidity.

Under chapter 4 of Kalshi's rulebook, designated market makers must maintain two-sided markets within a defined spread and with a minimum depth, and in return may receive reduced fees, different position limits and accountability levels (by default 10 times the usual accountability level on contracts they quote) and enhanced access. Kalshi's member agreement warns that these benefits can let them price quotes differently from other members, and that their spread and depth duties apply only at required times.

Kalshi's help center lists the series covered, including KXCPI, KXFEDDECISION, KXBTC and KXNFLGAME, with 98% availability required in each hour. Any member can post resting orders on both sides, and Kalshi's Liquidity Incentive Program pays eligible members for liquidity near the reference price.

Related terms

• Liquidity: How easily you can buy or sell a Kalshi contract near the quoted price; deep order books and tight spreads mean good liquidity.
• 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%.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

See also

Live Kalshi order book example

Sources

1. Who are you trading with?, Kalshi Help Center, August 14, 2026
2. How to Become a Market Maker on Kalshi, Kalshi Help Center, April 28, 2026
3. KalshiEX LLC Rulebook, version 1.29, Kalshi, accessed September 25, 2026
4. Kalshi Member Agreement, Kalshi, accessed September 25, 2026
5. Liquidity Incentive Program, Kalshi Help Center, September 3, 2026

Checked September 25, 2026. Kalshi changes fees, rules, funding options and limits; the market's rules, the order ticket and Kalshi's help center are the final word.

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