# Kalshi

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/kalshi  
**Vertical:** Fintech  
**Subcategory:** Prediction Markets  
**Tier:** Leader  
**Website:** kalshi.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated prediction market exchange where users trade on the outcome of real-world events — from elections to economic data to weather. HQ: San Francisco.

## Company Overview

Kalshi is the first U.S. federally regulated event contracts exchange, authorized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to operate a marketplace where participants can trade financial contracts based on the outcomes of real-world events. Founded in 2018 by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, Kalshi went through a years-long legal battle with regulators to establish the legitimacy of event contracts as a regulated financial product in the United States. Its CFTC approval in 2020 created a new class of financial instrument for Americans who previously had no legal domestic venue for prediction markets.

Kalshi's platform allows users to trade "yes/no" contracts on outcomes including elections, economic data (Federal Reserve rate decisions, CPI prints), weather events, sports championships, and technology milestones. If a user believes the Fed will raise rates at the next meeting, they can buy a "Yes" contract that pays $1 if the Fed raises rates and $0 if it doesn't. The pricing of these contracts (ranging from $0.01 to $0.99) reflects the market's collective probability estimate, providing real-time crowdsourced probability forecasts. In the 2024 election cycle, Kalshi's election markets drew massive volume as users sought to express views on Presidential, Senate, and House outcomes.

Kalshi's business model earns transaction fees on every trade. The company has argued (successfully to the CFTC) that event contracts serve genuine economic hedging purposes — a business might legitimately want to hedge against a regulatory outcome or macroeconomic surprise that affects its operations. The 2024 U.S. election saw Kalshi process hundreds of millions in notional volume, establishing prediction markets as a mainstream financial product and generating significant media attention for Kalshi's platform.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Kalshi?
Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange where users trade binary event contracts on real-world outcomes — elections, Fed rate decisions, economic data, sports results, and more. Contract prices (1¢–99¢) reflect the market's probability estimate of each outcome.

### How does Kalshi make money?
Kalshi earns transaction fees on every trade executed on its platform. As volume grew significantly during the 2024 election cycle (with hundreds of millions in notional election contract volume), transaction fee revenue scaled substantially.

### Is Kalshi regulated?
Yes — Kalshi is authorized by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) as a designated contract market, making it the only fully regulated prediction market exchange in the United States. It fought a multi-year regulatory battle to win CFTC approval for event contracts.

### Who founded Kalshi?
Kalshi was founded in 2018 by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, who met at MIT. The company has raised $30M+ in venture funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, Charles Schwab, and Henry Kravis.

### Is Kalshi regulated by a U.S. financial regulator?
Yes, Kalshi is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a designated contract market. It is the first federally regulated prediction market exchange in the United States, operating under CFTC oversight.

### What types of events can be traded on Kalshi?
Kalshi offers markets on a wide range of events including economic indicators (CPI, GDP, jobs reports), weather events, election outcomes, Federal Reserve decisions, and other measurable future events where participants can take positions.

### How does Kalshi differ from sports betting or fantasy platforms?
Unlike sports betting, Kalshi is a regulated financial exchange focused on economically significant events. Traders use Kalshi to hedge real-world exposures or speculate on macroeconomic and geopolitical outcomes within a federally regulated framework.

### How do payouts work on Kalshi?
Kalshi contracts pay out $1 if the event resolves in the direction the trader selected, and $0 if it resolves against them. Traders buy contracts at prices between $0.01 and $0.99 reflecting the market's implied probability of the event occurring.

## Tags

b2b, fintech, saas

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*