Kalshi to allow trading on borrowed funds
Only some of the bets will allow margin trading, showing where the prediction-markets platform thinks its future lies.
Kalshi, a prediction-markets platform, has decided to allow users to trade using borrowed funds, but only for certain types of bets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has granted Kalshi permission to extend margin loans to customers, excluding sports, mentions, and culture bets from this product. This move favors categories most attractive to institutional investors who are interested in wagering on or protecting themselves from significant global events such as elections and commodity prices.
Kalshi and Polymarket must decide whether they want to be major players in the financial markets or degenerate online sports bars. Both platforms are worth more as the places where major companies like Meta and Home Depot hedge their risks, and investment firms manage the effects of unexpected events on their portfolios, rather than as betting parlors for US government operations.
This announcement carries risks, as leverage always does, but it indicates that Kalshi has made its choice. In comparison, Polymarket still has some growing-up to do.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
