Kalshi Ends Volume Reward Program as Ether Trade Scrutiny Grows – Here’s Why

TLDR

• Kalshi filed with the CFTC to end its Volume Incentive Program no earlier than Oct. 13.
• September trading volume hit $52.98 billion through Sept. 29, a new high for the platform.
• Reports say the CFTC is reviewing more than $5 billion in repeated Ether perpetual futures trades.
• Kalshi denies wash trading, saying the trades came from market makers and fast traders hitting quotes.
• Kalshi is reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion at a $40 billion valuation.

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Kalshi has told the Commodity Futures Trading Commission it plans to end its Volume Incentive Program. The filing says the change will happen no earlier than Oct. 13.

Kalshi has informed the CFTC it plans to terminate its volume incentive program, per a filing dated Sept. 28. pic.twitter.com/Nv4mW1Iwb6

— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein_) September 29, 2026

The program began in March 2023. It paid traders a share of a reward pool based on how much they traded on Kalshi’s order book.

Kalshi did not give a reason for ending the program in its filing. The company also did not link the move to recent questions about its trading volume.

A record month for trading volume

Kalshi’s trading volume reached $52.98 billion in September, based on data through Sept. 29. That number was already higher than August’s total of $38.67 billion.

The September figure was still incomplete at the time it was reported. Even so, it marked an all-time high for the platform.

In July, Kalshi handled about $37.7 billion in volume. That month, combined volume across Kalshi, Polymarket, and Polymarket US reached $50.6 billion.

Questions about Ether perpetual futures

Before the filing, a trader using the name Beni raised concerns on social media. The trader pointed to about $539 million in 24 hour volume on Kalshi’s Ether perpetual futures contract.

That volume was compared to just $3.1 million in open interest for the same contract. The gap raised questions about whether the trading was real.

The Wall Street Journal later reported that the CFTC was looking into the matter. The report said many trades were close to $5,500 each and added up to more than $5 billion in volume over about a month.

The Journal described this as a review, not a formal investigation. Kalshi has said it was not contacted by the CFTC about the matter.

Kalshi responded to the allegations in a blog post last week. The company said wash trading does not happen on its platform.

Kalshi said the repeated trade sizes came from market makers posting steady quotes. Faster traders then matched those quotes, creating the pattern of similar trade sizes.

The company also said its systems block traders from matching with themselves. It said coordinated wash trading is against its rules and is monitored.

Kalshi drew a line between the ended Volume Incentive Program and its perpetual futures market maker programs. The company said those programs pay for keeping orders open at set prices, not for the number of trades that follow.

Because of this, ending the Volume Incentive Program does not mean Kalshi has ended its perpetual futures incentives. The CFTC filing only names the Volume Incentive Program.

A separate filing shows Kalshi submitted a new Deposit and Trading Reward Incentive Program on Sept. 25. That filing is under a 10 day review period with the CFTC.

Growth in crypto contracts and funding talks

Kalshi expanded its crypto offerings through September. The company added perpetual futures contracts for BNB, Cardano, Worldcoin, Aave, and Venice Token.

This brought Kalshi’s total crypto perpetual lineup to Bitcoin plus 17 other coins. The expansion followed an earlier stretch where crypto perpetual futures volume passed $5.5 billion within two weeks of launch.

Reuters reported on Sept. 29 that Kalshi is in talks to raise about $1 billion. The report said the deal would value Kalshi at close to $40 billion.

Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management were named as potential lead investors. Tiger Global and Dragoneer were also named as possible participants.

If completed, this would be a jump from Kalshi’s prior valuation of $22 billion from a May 2026 funding round. Reuters noted the terms of the new deal could still change before it closes.

Ark Invest also disclosed new exposure to Kalshi. The firm said its ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF funds now hold positions tied to the company.

Ark has estimated that prediction markets could eventually see $1 trillion to $5 trillion in annual trading volume.