Kalshi
The first CFTC-regulated US event exchange
- Rating
- 4.9 / 5
- Type
- Fiat (cash)
- KYC
- Full KYC
- US access
- Yes
- Markets
- Politics, Sports, Economics
- Fees
- Per-contract trading fee; no deposit fee
- Minimum deposit
- None
- Payout
- 1–3 days (ACH)
- Payment methods
- ACH, Debit card, Wire, Crypto
- Mobile app
- Yes
- Regions
- US
- Regulation
- CFTC-regulated exchange (DCM). Fully legal in the US.
About Kalshi
Kalshi's core selling point is legality rather than liquidity. It operates as a Designated Contract Market regulated directly by the CFTC, which makes it one of the few venues where American traders can bet on politics, sports and economic releases like the Fed rate decision or the CPI print without routing around US rules through an offshore or crypto workaround. Everything trades in real US dollars, there is no minimum deposit required to open an account, and the categories on offer sit squarely in the areas American retail traders care most about. It is, in effect, the domestic-legal option in a category where most competitors either operate offshore or lean on crypto rails instead.
That regulatory standing comes with the paperwork you would expect from a real financial exchange. Kalshi requires full identity verification before a user can trade at all, and getting money back out runs through ACH, typically taking one to three business days, a slower process than the instant on-chain settlement crypto-native platforms offer. Funding options are broader than most rivals though, spanning ACH, debit card, wire transfer and even crypto, and trading itself carries a per-contract fee while simply depositing funds does not. For anyone used to moving money instantly on a crypto exchange, the ACH withdrawal window is the most noticeable friction point on an otherwise straightforward platform.
For a US-based trader who wants event contracts without any crypto exposure or offshore uncertainty, that trade-off, slower withdrawals and real identity checks in exchange for a fully domestic, fully regulated exchange, is generally the point rather than a flaw. iOS and Android apps cover the essentials for anyone trading from a phone, and the fact that it is legal, licensed and dollar-denominated end to end is precisely what separates it from most of the field. That regulatory clarity is also why it tends to come up first whenever the conversation turns to whether prediction markets are actually legal to use in the United States.