Kalshi Promo Code PRED35 for $35 Trading Bonus - September 2026

The Kalshi promo code PRED35 gives eligible new users a $35 trading bonus. Enter the code during registration, verify your account, deposit funds, and settle $25 in trades within the first seven days.

Once you qualify, the trading credits are added to your Kalshi account.

I’d use my qualifying trades on single-game markets, such as Blue Jays over Athletics and Seahawks over Patriots, rather than tying up the requirement in a futures market. Single games settle quickly, so you can complete the trading requirement and move on to the bonus within seven days.

Once the qualifying trades settle, the $35 bonus can be used on other Kalshi markets. Here you have more flexibility, since they don’t need to settle within seven days. If you want to take a futures like Super Bowl winner or NFL MVP, it makes sense to do so with your bonus. There are also politics, economics, and pop culture markets to target if that’s your preference.

Kalshi has a deep selection of NFL prediction markets heading into Week 1, ranging from individual games to season-long futures. For single games, you can trade on the winner, spread, and total. As of Sept. 7, Seattle is trading around 63% to beat New England in the opener, while the Rams are around 65% against the 49ers.

The percentages come from contract prices. A Yes contract trading at 65¢ roughly represents a 65% market-implied probability and pays $1 if that outcome settles Yes. Prices can move right up until settlement as traders buy and sell.

There are also longer-term markets covering division winners, playoff qualification, conference champions, and the Super Bowl. The Rams are currently the 2027 NFL Championship favorite at about 17%, while Buffalo and Seattle are around 8%.

For me, the single-game markets are the easiest place to start because they work similarly to familiar NFL moneyline, spread, and total markets and settle quickly, making them perfect to use your qualifying trade for the welcome bonus.

Kalshi Combos let you combine multiple outcomes into one position, making them similar to a sportsbook parlay. You can build combos from eligible markets using the Combo button or Kalshi’s combo builder, with available legs added on a rolling basis as events get closer.

The important difference is how they settle. A combo pays based on the product of the final settlement value of every leg, with a maximum payout of $1 per contract. If every leg settles at $1, the combo pays $1. If any leg settles at $0, the entire combo pays $0. If a leg partially settles at $0.70, for example, that value is multiplied by the settlement values of the other legs to determine the payout.

Kalshi uses a Request for Quote (RFQ) system for combo pricing, so you request a combination and other market participants can respond with a price.

Kalshi has one of its most robust political market selections around the 2026 midterms, with midterm election odds covering the Senate, House, individual states, and governor races.

As of Sept. 7, traders give Republicans about a 53% chance of controlling the Senate, while Democrats are around 85% to control the House. You can also trade individual Senate races such as Texas, Michigan, Iowa, and New Hampshire, along with markets on how many seats each party will hold after the election.

Kalshi also has governor markets covering individual races and which party will hold more governorships after the midterms.

Kalshi Perps are perpetual futures that let you take a position on whether the price of a cryptocurrency will rise or fall without actually owning the asset. Unlike traditional futures, there is no expiration date, so you can keep a position open until you decide to close it, provided you maintain enough margin.

You can go long if you expect the price to rise or short if you expect it to fall. Kalshi also offers leverage, which increases your market exposure but amplifies both potential gains and losses. Open positions are subject to funding payments every eight hours, which help keep perp prices aligned with the underlying spot market.

Kalshi currently highlights Perps for major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Chainlink (LINK), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Hyperliquid (HYPE). Maximum leverage varies by asset and can change as market conditions change.

Kalshi is a federally regulated prediction market exchange where you can trade on the outcomes of real-world events. KalshiEX LLC is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Designated Contract Market (DCM), putting it under federal derivatives oversight.

Most Kalshi markets use Yes/No event contracts. If you think an event will happen, you can buy Yes; if you think it won’t, you can buy No. Contracts generally settle at $1 if you’re correct and $0 if you’re wrong.

Unlike a traditional sportsbook, Kalshi doesn’t act as the house setting fixed odds. With prediction markets, you trade against other users, with prices determined by supply and demand on the exchange. For example, a Yes contract trading at 65 cents reflects a 65% market-implied probability at that moment.

Yes, Kalshi is a legitimate prediction market exchange regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). KalshiEX LLC has been a Designated Contract Market (DCM) since November 2020, putting it under the same federal derivatives regulatory framework that applies to other registered exchanges.

Kalshi also uses identity verification and market-surveillance measures designed to prevent fraud, manipulation, and prohibited trading. Its affiliated clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear, completed a SOC 2 Type II audit, which reviewed controls around areas such as data security, access management, backups, and incident response.

Kalshi differs from a traditional sportsbook because it operates under federal CFTC oversight rather than obtaining individual sportsbook licenses in each state. Its exchange is available across the US, although ongoing state-level legal and regulatory challenges mean access can change over time.

Kalshi is federally regulated rather than licensed state by state like a sportsbook, so it remains accessible across most of the US. However, availability has become more complicated this year as several states challenge its event contracts. Most states currently have full access, while Michigan, Nevada, and Washington have restrictions on certain Kalshi markets.

The main option Kalshi offers existing users is the Liquidity Incentive Program, which rewards you for placing resting orders that improve liquidity in eligible markets.

Your reward depends on factors such as the size of your order, how close it is to the market’s reference price, and your share of the qualifying liquidity. Rewards currently range from $1 to $1,000 per market per day, with a minimum payout of $1. The current program is scheduled to run through Jan. 1, 2027.

Kalshi also runs volume incentive programs on selected markets. You can find active opportunities under Menu and then Rewards, where Kalshi lists the eligible markets, reward periods, and total reward pools.

From time to time, Kalshi may also offer targeted promotions, including perps bonuses or referral rewards, but these aren’t always available to every existing user.

I like Kalshi because it combines a huge range of markets with an interface that still feels straightforward once you understand how Yes/No contracts work. I’ve found the sports markets one of the easiest to navigate of the main prediction market apps. Features such as Combos and live trading give you more flexibility. I also like having the ability to sell a position before the outcome settles, allowing you a chance to get an early profit.

Another major positive is the high trading volume on many of Kalshi’s biggest markets. More activity generally means better liquidity, making it easier to enter and exit positions without having to wait for another trader to match your price.

Kalshi is best for traders who want plenty of choice across sports, politics, economics, crypto, weather, and entertainment, with enough liquidity to make the larger markets feel active throughout the day.

I find Kalshi fairly easy to use, especially once you understand how Yes/No contracts and pricing work. Markets are organized by categories such as sports, politics, crypto, economics, and culture. The mobile app makes it easy to check prices and monitor open positions from the Portfolio section. Your portfolio shows your cash balance, open positions, and current market value in one place.

The mobile experience is strong on both iOS and Android. Kalshi currently has a 4.8/5 App Store rating from about 500,000 ratings, while Google Play shows 4.7/5 from roughly 106,000 reviews. The iPhone app is about a reasonable size at 129.5 MB.

Security is another positive. Kalshi supports two-factor authentication through SMS or an authenticator app, with verification required periodically when logging in. However, for more in-depth trading, I prefer the desktop experience because Kalshi Pro provides live market depth, spreads, volume, a trades feed, custom layouts, advanced charts, and live profit-and-loss tracking.

Overall, mobile works well for quickly finding and managing trades, while desktop and Kalshi Pro are better suited to comparing markets and following several positions at once.

Market selection is one of Kalshi’s biggest strengths. It goes well beyond sports, with thousands of contracts tied to real-world events across several categories:

The amount of money traded on the biggest markets is impressive. As of Sept. 7, the 2027 NFL Champion market had more than $82 million in volume, while the September Fed decision had roughly $37 million. The College Football National Championship and Heisman Trophy markets had also attracted around $26 million and $16 million, respectively.

Kalshi’s overall trading volume is also one of the strongest in the prediction market industry. The platform recorded approximately $37.2 billion in August 2026 volume, compared with about $8.2 billion for Polymarket. That helps explain why I generally find the major Kalshi markets easy to trade without waiting long for a match.

There are several ways to trade beyond basic Yes/No contracts. Sports markets include live trading, allowing you to enter or exit positions after a game has started. Kalshi also has player props covering categories such as passing yards, receiving yards, rushing yards, and more. For example, its current 49ers-Rams markets include Matthew Stafford passing-yard and Puka Nacua receiving-yard markets.

You can also build Kalshi Combos, which combine multiple eligible outcomes into one position. They work somewhat like parlays, although each combo gets its own market and price through Kalshi’s Request for Quote system.

Liquidity is strongest on major sports, political, crypto, and economic events. Kalshi even uses designated market makers across many of its core markets to provide consistent two-sided pricing. Smaller markets can be different. If you’re trading something niche, there may be fewer contracts available at the displayed price, a wider bid-ask spread, or less ability to cash out a large position immediately.

That also affects how I judge Kalshi pricing. The displayed percentage is driven by buyers and sellers rather than a sportsbook setting a line, so I don’t assume Kalshi automatically has the best price. On high-volume markets, the spreads can be tight and pricing is often competitive. On smaller markets, I always check the bid, ask, available size, and trading fee before placing an order.

Compared with Polymarket, Kalshi currently has more overall trading volume, while Polymarket can still be particularly deep on certain global and political events. Compared with ProphetX, which describes itself as more of a sports exchange, Kalshi offers far more variety.

Kalshi doesn’t set traditional sportsbook-style odds. Prices are created by buyers and sellers in the market, so a Yes contract trading at 65 cents reflects roughly a 65% market-implied probability at that moment. As opinions change and new information comes in, supply and demand move the price.

Kalshi makes money through transaction fees rather than taking the opposite side of your position. You can read our full Kalshi fees guide for a deeper breakdown.

For standard event contracts, fees vary based on the contract price, number of contracts, and the specific market. The general fee formula is based on 7% of expected earnings, which means fees are highest around 50 cents contracts and lower when prices are closer to 0¢ or $1. For example, 100 contracts at 50 cents currently carry a $1.75 fee, while 100 contracts at 90¢ cost $0.63. Some markets use different fee schedules.

Resting limit orders are generally fee-free unless a market specifically has maker fees. Kalshi also charges no settlement or membership fees.

Kalshi supports more funding methods than most prediction exchanges, including ACH bank transfer, debit card, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, crypto, and wire transfer. US users get the widest selection, while international users are generally limited to debit card, crypto, and wire deposits.

For me, debit card and PayPal are the best options for their convenience. Both types of payments provide withdrawals that usually arrive within a few hours. ACH is slower, but Kalshi doesn’t charge a fee for bank deposits or withdrawals.

Kalshi’s main support option is its in-app and web support messenger, which the company says is the fastest way to get help because its team can access your account information directly. You can also email support if you can’t use the chat. Kalshi does not currently offer phone or text support.

Response times can vary depending on request volume and the complexity of the issue.

Kalshi also charges maker and taker trading fees when positions are opened and closed, calculated on the full notional position size rather than just the margin you put up.

Other alternatives worth considering include Novig and Underdog Predictions, especially if your main interest is sports. See our full best prediction market apps ranking for the complete list.

Kalshi offers several tools designed to help users manage risk and stay in control of their trading. These include monthly deposit limits, trading breaks, voluntary self-exclusion, educational resources, and two-factor authentication. Kalshi also requires identity verification and uses real-time trade surveillance to flag suspicious activity and protect market integrity.

You can find these tools under Responsible Risk Management in your account settings.

My approach is to treat prediction markets like any other form of speculative trading:

Kalshi also offers confidential support through Birches Health and links to additional responsible trading tools.