What is Kalshi and How Does It Work — Quick Primer
What is Kalshi and how does it work? Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated event-exchange that lists yes/no contracts on real-world outcomes; traders buy contracts that pay $1 if the outcome occurs. It matches a retail and professional orderflow with a regulated custody and clearing model, which differs from decentralized platforms. If you’re a crypto-native trader, knowing how Kalshi compares to Polymarket and where an arbitrage tool like PolyArb fits will help you choose execution and monitoring tools.
Kalshi in plain terms
Kalshi offers exchange-listed event contracts that settle to $1 on a YES outcome and $0 on NO, similar in payoff to prediction-market shares. It operates under CFTC oversight and uses centralized custody and clearing, which appeals to users who prefer regulated counterparty and fiat rails. The product is built for retail traders and institutions who want regulated access to event trading rather than on-chain settlement.
How trading and settlement work
Traders place orders against a central order book and the exchange handles custody, margin, and settlement under regulatory rules. Contracts trade during market hours defined by Kalshi and settle once the event resolves. This contrasts with on-chain platforms where outcome tokens (ERC-1155-like) are minted and redeemed via smart contracts and oracles.
Key differences vs Polymarket
Polymarket is a decentralized CLOB on Polygon with on-chain outcome tokens, UMA-based resolution, and gasless UX via a Relayer; settlement is in pUSD. Kalshi is centralized and CFTC-regulated with fiat rails. Liquidity, fees, regulatory scope, and available markets differ; each suits different compliance and custody preferences.
Where PolyArb fits for arbitrageurs
If you focus on intra-platform inefficiencies, PolyArb operates on Polymarket to detect and execute intra-market arbitrage with low latency execution, Telegram and Discord alerts, and a guaranteed minimum edge of $7.62 per trade. PolyArb is non-custodial and built for traders who need sub-50ms responsiveness vs public bots. Remember all arbitrage carries resolution, slippage, fee, and settlement timing risks.
Start capturing predictable arbitrage edges today
Try PolyArb for $99/month — sub-50ms execution, Telegram + Discord alerts, non-custodial, and a $7.62 minimum guaranteed edge per trade.
FAQ
- Is Kalshi the same as Polymarket?
- No. Kalshi is a regulated, centralized exchange under CFTC rules. Polymarket is a decentralized prediction marketplace on Polygon with on-chain outcome tokens and UMA resolution.
- Can I arbitrage between Kalshi and Polymarket?
- Cross-platform arbitrage is possible in principle but involves custody, settlement timing, and regulatory frictions. PolyArb focuses on intra-Polymarket arbitrage, not cross-platform trades.
- Does PolyArb work with Kalshi?
- PolyArb is built to execute intra-Polymarket arbitrage on Polymarket’s CLOB. It does not route or manage orders on centralized exchanges like Kalshi.