Prediction marketplace Kalshi has commenced accepting Bitcoin (BTC) deposits in an effort to attract more crypto-savvy users.
The firm that allows users to wager on events spanning from electoral results to Rotten Tomatoes film ratings has observed notable interest among cryptocurrency traders, Kalshi informed Cointelegraph on April 9. For example, event contracts for betting on Bitcoin’s minute-by-minute price fluctuations have recorded $143 million in trading volume thus far, a representative stated.
Kalshi operates as a derivatives exchange regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As of April 9, it has included around 50 crypto-related event contracts, encompassing markets for wagering on coins’ peaks and troughs in 2025, along with headlines such as US President Donald Trump’s suggested National Bitcoin Reserve.
Kalshi has intensified focus on crypto event contract markets. Source: Kalshi
The platform began to welcome crypto payments in October when it enabled stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) deposits.
Kalshi relies on ZeroHash — a provider of cryptocurrency payment infrastructure — for converting BTC and USDC and transferring the deposits into US dollars. The exchange only accepts BTC deposits originating from the Bitcoin network.
The majority of Kalshi traders no longer anticipate core tokens to yield positive returns this year. Source: Kalshi
Related: Kalshi traders assess the likelihood of a US recession in 2025 at over 61%
More precise than polls
Established in 2021, Kalshi gained prominence just before the US’s November elections.
It emerged as a leading platform for trading on 2024 political scenarios after winning a case against the CFTC, which attempted to prevent Kalshi from offering contracts related to elections.
The regulator contended that political prediction markets jeopardize the integrity of elections, but experts assert that they frequently capture public sentiment more accurately than polls.
For instance, prediction markets, including Kalshi, accurately forecasted Trump’s victory in the presidential election, even when polls suggested a close race.
“Event contract markets serve as a beneficial public resource with no evidence of substantial manipulation or extensive exploitation for any malicious objectives that the Commission alleges,” stated Harry Crane, a professor of statistics at Rutgers University, in an August commentary submitted to the CFTC.
As of April 9, Kalshi traders assign the odds of the US entering a recession at 68%, based on its website.
In March, Kalshi teamed up with Robinhood to introduce prediction markets to the well-known online brokerage platform. Following the announcement, Robinhood’s stock jumped approximately 8%.
Kalshi competes with Polymarket, a Web3-based prediction platform. Polymarket handled over $3 billion in trading volumes related to the US presidential election, even though it is off-limits for US traders.
