Phantom Opens Kalshi Prediction Markets to US Users

Phantom has started offering Kalshi prediction markets to users in the United States, with the feature going live on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, according to Coincentral. Trades are mainly funded with Phantom’s dollar-pegged CASH stablecoin, and access is being widened over the following weeks.

The arrangement runs through a commercial partnership with KalshiEx, a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market and derivatives clearing organization. Phantom operates as a non-custodial interface and does not hold user funds; users become direct Kalshi members after completing Kalshi’s KYC checks and linking or creating an account.

Key facts

• The rollout began Oct. 23, 2026, and expands to more users over the coming weeks.
• Trades are funded mainly with CASH, Phantom’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, which converts to fiat at Kalshi for settlement; a small network fee applies.
• Phantom received conditional CFTC no-action relief in March 2026 allowing it to connect users to registered exchanges without registering as a broker.
• Kalshi has recorded more than $291 billion in trading volume this year, per The Block data cited by Coincentral.
• Utah’s Attorney General sued Kalshi on Oct. 20, 2026, alleging illegal gambling operations, Cryptobriefing reported.

How the integration works

Once verified, users trade event contracts on politics, sports, the economy and crypto without leaving the Phantom app, Cryptobriefing reported. The interface carries real-time odds, settlement notifications and a community chat. Kalshi is opening its full catalog to Phantom, which decides which markets appear.

Coincentral quoted a prediction feed of $0.02 per contract, with a full fee breakdown shown before a trade or cash-out is confirmed. Kalshi shares part of the exchange fees from Phantom trades with the wallet company. Phantom general counsel Kevin Jacobs said additional payment methods are coming.

The two outlets describe the app’s reach differently in emphasis: Cryptobriefing put the integration in front of roughly 20 million Phantom users and noted the original December 2025 announcement, while Coincentral framed the Oct. 23 date as the US-facing launch following a version last year that was limited for US users and several other regions. Cryptobriefing also reported that Phantom said it would move its prediction market infrastructure off Kalshi’s backend after June 2026 to allow automatic on-chain settlement through another provider.

State restrictions and legal fights

Phantom is limiting some categories by state. Sports markets are blocked in Michigan; sports, elections, politics and entertainment in Nevada; and those categories plus culture, science, tech, mentions and geopolitics in Washington. Jacobs said the wallet will follow state restrictions while court disputes proceed and expects the Supreme Court may ultimately decide the question of federal versus state authority.

Kalshi vice president of business development Max Crowley said Phantom did its regulatory work in advance and that the partnership should add users and liquidity and improve Kalshi’s market data.

On trading volume, the reports differ in scope: Coincentral cited October volume of $55.33 billion with nine days left in the month, putting Kalshi on pace to pass September’s record of $59.32 billion, while Cryptobriefing referred generally to billions in activity around the time of the integration.

Why it matters

For Kalshi, the wallet is a distribution channel that reaches a large existing crypto user base without traditional marketing spend. For Phantom, it turns a wallet into a venue for regulated event contracts, a step beyond simple asset storage. The open question is legal: if states succeed in treating Kalshi’s contracts as gambling, availability could shrink in some jurisdictions, and every new integration widens the number of users exposed to that outcome.

What to watch

The Utah suit and other state cases challenging Kalshi’s federal preemption argument are the next markers, along with whether October volume closes above September’s record. Phantom has said its state-level category blocks could change as litigation moves.

This article is not financial advice. Prediction-market contracts carry loss-of-capital, volatility, liquidity, counterparty and regulatory risk, and outcomes are uncertain.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment, financial or trading advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Always do your own research.

Sources: CoinCentral, Cryptobriefing