Calci has received regulatory approval that paves the way for margin trading, giving the prediction market platform a product that could make it more attractive to hedge funds and other institutional investors as the sector accelerates deeper into mainstream finance.
The approval covers a commission-based futures trading license through its subsidiary Kinetic Markets LLC, according to a National Futures Association filing dated March 24. Tareq Mansour, CEO of Kalshi, said this week that a margin product would be coming soon, and described capital efficiency for institutions as a key priority.
The move comes after Kalshi raised more than $1 billion in a financing round that valued the company at $22 billion, nearly double its reported valuation of $11 billion in December. The new rating reflects investors’ belief that prediction markets are evolving from a retail novelty to a broader trading and hedging venue with real appeal for Wall Street firms.
This growth was rapid. Bloomberg reported that Calci stock’s weekly notional volume exceeded $3 billion earlier this month, while a separate Barron’s report said the company recently reached $10.4 billion in monthly trading volume. March Madness has become the most popular bracket on the platform even as the NCAA seeks to shut down betting on college sports through prediction markets.
Kalshi also builds the plumbing needed to serve major merchants. Recent reports show that major brokers are moving to give hedge funds access to Calci markets, while the company has partnered with FIS on clearing infrastructure aimed at institutional adoption and with Tradeweb to distribute predictive market data to professional investors.
This month, top US stock exchange executives called for clearer rules as prediction markets add users and expand into contracts tied to politics, economics, sports and geopolitics. Cboe also said it plans to launch more advanced predictive market contracts with fractional payouts, demonstrating that established exchange groups increasingly see event trading as a real growth area rather than a fringe product.
Calci recently said it would bar politicians, athletes, referees and other people with a direct influence on certain outcomes from trading-related markets, and California on Friday barred state officials from using inside knowledge to bet on prediction platforms like Calci and PolyMarket. A bipartisan Senate bill introduced this week would also ban sports-related event contracts in federally regulated prediction markets, underscoring that the next phase of the sector’s growth will likely come with greater compliance requirements.
