Phantom Opens Kalshi Prediction Markets to U.S. Users: In-Wallet Event Contracts at 2 Cents Per Contract
Crypto wallet Phantom began a staged rollout of prediction markets to U.S. users on October 23, letting them trade event contracts from Kalshi, an exchange regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), without leaving the wallet app. The markets span politics, sports, economics and culture, and Phantom said access will expand over the coming weeks. The wallet reportedly has about 20 million users.
The U.S. version works differently from the integration Phantom introduced in December 2025: U.S. users must open or link a Kalshi account inside the app and complete identity verification, including a U.S. phone number and a government-issued ID, with some users also passing Socure checks. According to Phantom general counsel Kevin Jacobs, Kalshi approves and holds users' trading accounts and executes the trades they submit using Phantom, while Phantom remains unregistered with the CFTC and acts only as a passive software interface; trading balances stay in Kalshi's custody, not in the wallet.
The structure rests on CFTC Staff Letter 26-09, issued in March, in which agency staff agreed Phantom need not register as an introducing broker to offer the interface, subject to 10 conditions, including that users sign up as direct members of the exchange and can reach it without Phantom. Staff extended similar relief to other software providers in September. Jacobs said that so long as the company's interaction with these products is consistent with its no-action position, it is confident and comfortable engaging in the activity, and that he believes the CFTC's jurisdiction over the products is clear.
Trades are funded with the dollar-pegged CASH stablecoin held in a Phantom Cash account; funds move to Kalshi and are converted to fiat for settlement, and sale proceeds and winnings return automatically to Phantom Cash. The prediction fee is $0.02 per contract, split evenly between Phantom and Kalshi, plus a small network fee for moving funds, all shown before a trade is confirmed.
The launch is not uniform nationwide. With state litigation pending, Phantom initially blocks sports markets in Michigan; sports, elections, politics and entertainment markets in Nevada; and a broader set in Washington state that also covers culture, science and technology, mentions and geopolitics. Three days before the rollout, on October 20, the Utah Attorney General sued Kalshi, alleging illegal gambling operations and seeking restitution — one of several state challenges still working through the courts.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Kalshi 公司标志，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons
