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- Kalshi has asked the CFTC to approve margin trading on certain event contracts through its clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear, aiming to attract more institutional volume to longer-dated markets.
- If approved, margin access would be restricted to qualifying self-clearing members and would explicitly exclude sports, culture, and mention markets.
Kalshi has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to approve margin trading on certain event contracts through its clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear, in a move that could broaden institutional participation in U.S. prediction markets.
The filing matters because leverage would mark a significant shift in how regulated event contracts are traded in the U.S. Kalshi said the proposal is designed to make longer-dated prediction markets more attractive to institutions, but it would be limited to qualifying self-clearing members rather than the broader retail market.
Kalshi’s proposal would limit who can use leverage
According to the filing, access to margin would be restricted to self-clearing members that meet specified capital thresholds. Kalshi also proposed a tiered collateral structure in which requirements would increase as a contract gets closer to settlement.
Kalshi said it would not offer margin on sports event contracts, culture markets, or mention markets. The company already offers leverage on its perpetual futures products, but this request would extend margin capability to a new part of its event-contract business if approved.
The source report did not say when the CFTC might act on the request, and it remains unclear whether or when margin trading would become available on Kalshi’s event contracts.
Filing comes as Kalshi expands products and reach
The margin request arrives as Kalshi continues to build out tools for higher-volume traders. The company recently launched a professional trading terminal for its most active users and said it accounts for more than 90% of prediction market activity in the U.S.
Kalshi also said its annualized trading volume rose from $52 billion to $178 billion over a six-month period.
Outside the U.S., the company has expanded distribution through partnerships. Kalshi partnered with Alpaca to make event contracts available to users outside the United States, and earlier worked with Wealthsimple to bring its markets to Canada.
The filing also lands amid wider competition in the sector. Rival Polymarket made moves in July to obtain regulatory licenses that could eventually allow margin trading on event contracts in the U.S.
For now, the central unanswered question is whether the CFTC will permit margin on regulated prediction-market contracts and, if so, under what final capital and collateral rules.
Source: As reported by Cris Tolomia.
