Amid legal proceedings, Kalshi launches its crypto perpetual contract

Kalshi hits milestone: Predicting market giants aggressively expand amid regulatory storm

Kalshi has just reached a remarkable milestone. According to Similarweb data cited by Cointelegraph on Friday, in July 2026, the forecast market platform received 15.4 million visits from the United States, compared with only about 1 million a year ago, an increase of 1,520%. Trading volume is growing even faster. Nominal monthly trading volume in August was about $40 billion, compared with just $874 million a year ago.

However, the real game-changing information lies in other aspects. Kalshi has just launched a perpetual contract for crypto-assets, which includes 14 other assets including BTC, ETH, and BNB and provides up to 6 times leverage. This strategic shift has further complicated its already heavy regulatory dossier.

Quick overview of core points

• Kalshi accounts for most of the growth share in the forecast market segment with sports contracts.
• The platform is engaged in a key regulatory survival battle in the U.S. Supreme Court over the legal nature of its contracts.
• At a time when the legal battle was in full swing, Kalshi chose to open up a second battlefield and launch leveraged crypto perpetual contracts.

Dizzying surge in traffic and transaction volume

The data itself speaks for itself. Traffic from the U.S. market accounts for nearly 80% of Kalshi's total traffic, compared with 72.8% a year ago. Growth remains highly concentrated in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, Barron's Weekly reported on Thursday that sports contracts accounted for 83% of July's trading volume. From an industry perspective as a whole, monthly transaction volume for the entire forecast market industry has increased from US$2 billion to US$50.7 billion, with the Kalshi family accounting for nearly 79% of the total. So Kalshi has not just achieved growth, it has actually swallowed up the entire market.

It is worth noting that even though Kalshi explicitly prohibits direct access in certain jurisdictions, traffic in these areas is increasing:

• Canada's number of visits increased from 50,000 to 450,000;
• The UK increased from 31,000 to 296,000, despite platform user agreements that still prohibit direct access from these two countries.

Kalshi cleverly circumvented this issue by establishing a partnership with Wealthsimple in June, opening access to approximately 4,000 eligible contracts through a stand-alone application. Although this move is clever, it does not eliminate the fundamental question: Who is visiting what? Based on what authorization?

Cases rising to Supreme Court

When traffic explodes, the judicial community also becomes active. New Jersey has submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court the question of whether Kalshi's sports contracts fall under federal regulation (i.e., the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or state-specific gambling laws. Michigan is also working to stop the platform. The issue is not superficial, because if sports contracts are reclassified as bets placed under state jurisdiction, the largest portion of Kalshi's model-sports contracts, which account for 83% of trading volume-will become vulnerable in its main markets.

Kalshi walks a double-edged sword here. On the one hand, it claims to be an event contract market regulated by the CFTC for years, with federal status; on the other hand, the larger the platform, the more it will attract the attention of state regulators, who view its success as evidence that Kalshi is actually disguised as sports betting.

Crypto transformation that introduces regulatory risk

Now Kalshi adds another layer of complexity. On September 4, the Kalshi Crypto account announced the launch of a BNB perpetual contract on the X platform, supplementing previous quotes that had covered BTC, ETH, LINK and 14 other crypto assets, providing up to 6 times leverage for eligible U.S. traders. On the same day, another post forwarded the announcement to confirm the expansion plan. According to the same publication, the platform is also promoting tokenized stocks and gold products.

Frankly, the timing is very bold, as Kalshi is fighting in the Supreme Court to prove that he is not an institution disguised as a gambling company. However, it chose to launch 6 times leverage on crypto assets at this precise moment, which obviously falls within the scope of the CFTC's focus on traditional derivatives. Instead of simplifying its regulatory archives, Kalshi opened up a second battlefield. This time it is leveraged crypto derivatives, and the first battlefield-the battle between sports contracts and gambling-has not even been resolved.

Three key points to keep in mind about Kalshi

1. Traffic surges: U.S. traffic grew 1,520% in one year, reaching 15.4 million visits in July 2026, compared with less than 1 million visits in August 2025. (Note: There may be a clerical error in the time logic here in the original text. It is usually compared to the same year or the previous year. It is understood here as a recent sharp growth according to the original text).
2. is huge and controversial: Kalshi's transaction volume is approximately US$40 billion, 83% of which is driven by sports contracts, the status of which has been disputed until the Supreme Court.
3. New regulatory frontiers: New regulatory challenges launched in early September: Launch of up to 6 times leverage crypto perpetual contracts for BTC, ETH, BNB, LINK and 14 other assets.

Kalshi's growth has exceeded its regulatory base. Between the Supreme Court and the CFTC, two battlefields are open at the same time: sports and encryption. The question is no longer whether regulators will make the decision, but which one will step in first.