Kalshi

Kalshi is the most important product launch in alternative financial markets in decades. The New York-based exchange received CFTC approval to offer event contracts — legally traded instruments tied to the outcome of real-world events — after years of regulatory engagement and a series of legal battles that ultimately established the category's legitimacy under US financial law.

That regulatory foundation is the foundational advantage that separates Kalshi from every other platform in the prediction market space. Polymarket is offshore and blocked to US users for trading. OG and ProphetX are newer platforms with smaller market catalogs and user bases. Kalshi is the only platform where an American can open an account today, fund it via ACH from their checking account, trade event contracts, and withdraw winnings to the same bank account — all under federal regulatory oversight.

Our verdict on Kalshi

Kalshi earns the top score in the prediction market category without meaningful competition. The regulatory status is irreplaceable, the market catalog is the broadest available to US residents, the app is well-designed, and the payout pipeline is fast and reliable. The real friction points — trading fees on winnings, thin liquidity on niche contracts, the binary $1 contract structure — are inherent to the regulated market model and not specific product failures. For any US resident who wants to trade on events with real money, Kalshi is the starting point.

How it works

Kalshi event contracts are binary instruments. Each contract asks a yes/no question about a real-world event: 'Will the Federal Reserve cut rates in June?', 'Will the Chicago Bears win the Super Bowl?', 'Will CPI come in above 3.5% in December?'. Contracts trade between $0.01 and $0.99 (representing 1%-99% probability). If the event resolves YES, contracts pay $1.00. If NO, they expire worthless. Traders can buy YES or NO positions, hold through resolution, or sell to exit positions early.

The app's interface is purpose-built for this contract structure. Markets are organized by category — Politics, Sports, Economics, Weather, Entertainment, Tech — with featured markets surfaced on the home feed and trending contracts highlighted. Placing a trade is a simple buy/sell flow: choose position, set quantity, review cost, confirm. The order book is visible for each market, showing the current spread and available liquidity at each price level.

Markets & liquidity

Kalshi's market catalog as of 2025 spans hundreds of active contracts across politics, economic data releases (Fed rate decisions, CPI, GDP, jobs reports), sports outcomes, weather events, company earnings, and entertainment (award shows, television ratings). The political markets are the highest-volume and most liquid — presidential election contracts routinely see millions of dollars in trading volume during major campaign events.

Liquidity is strong on political and major economic markets and noticeably thinner on niche events — minor sports leagues, international political events, and entertainment markets can have wide bid-ask spreads that eat into returns. This is a normal feature of a maturing market and improves as trading volume grows.

Payouts & fees

Kalshi charges a fee on profitable trades — currently around 7% of winnings on standard event contracts (fee structures vary by market). This is distinct from traditional sportsbooks that build margin into the odds; on Kalshi, the price you see is the probability, and the fee is charged only on net winnings. Withdrawals are processed via ACH bank transfer and typically arrive within 1-3 business days. There is no withdrawal fee.

Availability

Kalshi is available to all US residents nationwide. There are no state restrictions — CFTC-regulated financial instruments have federal jurisdiction that overrides state gambling law. The iOS app is available on the App Store; Android via Google Play. A full web platform at kalshi.com provides identical functionality for desktop users.

Final take

Kalshi is the most important platform in the prediction market category and the only one that fully solves the US legal access problem. The CFTC regulatory foundation, the breadth of the market catalog, the 131K+ user validation, and the fast bank transfer payouts add up to a product that belongs at the top of every prediction market ranking. If you have one account in this category, it is Kalshi. [AFFILIATE: App Store URLs as fallback — direct affiliate links to be added by Chris]