Kalshi Announces Bitcoin Deposits, Payouts: Masters Betting Volume Hits $8 Million

Kalshi, the first CFTC regulated exchange dedicated to trading on the outcome of future events, including sports, has just announced they will be accepting Bitcoin deposits and offering payouts using the digital currency.  None of its regulated counterparts accept Bitcoin, though nearly all offshore sportsbooks accepting bets in the US do.

Kalshi also takes bets on some 50 crypto-related event contracts.

For example, they currently offer a market on the price of Bitcoin at the conclusion of each day with some $144 million in series wagering volume.

CoinTelegraph reports that the platform started accepting crypto payments in October when it enabled stablecoin USD Coin
USDC.

According to CoinTelegraph, Kalshi relies on ZeroHash — a crypto payments infrastructure provider — for off-ramping BTC and USDC and converting the deposits to US dollars. The exchange accepts BTC deposits only from the Bitcoin network.

Donald Trump, Jr. is an advisor to the company.  His father, US President Donald Trump, has made it no secret he is bullish on Bitcoin.

The news comes one day before one of the year's biggest sporting events, The Masters.  Kalshi thus far has accepted $8 million on The Masters thus far.

The prediction platform has recently sued both Nevada and New Jersey as both states attempt to block access to Kalshi. 

"I think clearly Kalshi is going to win these cases," crypto attorney Aaron Brogan said in an interview with CoinDesk. "If you look at the language of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), it says that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over any contracts that fall within its regulatory purview, which derivative contracts and event contracts clearly do."

Kalshi argues that people use these contracts to hedge against real-world risk, but few can argue there is a blurry line when it comes to what the platform offers and any perception of gambling.

The key legal distinction is that gambling is typically defined as risking money on games of chance, whereas trading event contracts is considered a financial activity.