Kalshi To End Volume Incentive Program By October 13 Amid Scrutiny
Prediction market exchange Kalshi has told the Commodity Futures Trading Commission it will terminate its Volume Incentive Program no earlier than October 13, 2026, according to a filing published by the CFTC.
The program, which paid eligible traders a share of fixed per-market rewards based on their trading volume, has been in place to boost liquidity and pricing efficiency across Kalshi's markets.
How The Volume Incentive Program Worked
Under Kalshi Rule 3.13(f), the exchange is permitted to create, modify or terminate programs that incentivise membership and trading at its own discretion.
The Volume Incentive Program applied to all Kalshi markets and, on each market page, identified whether that market was eligible for an incentive during a set "Eligible Term", along with a fixed "Volume Reward" for that period.
At the end of each term, eligible participants who traded in the market received a share of the reward proportional to their own trading volume relative to the market's total eligible volume.
Eligible participants covered all Kalshi members except Kalshi's own affiliates, members with a signed Market Maker Agreement, and introducing brokers or futures commission merchants transacting on behalf of undisclosed customers.
Kalshi said the program's purpose was to increase volume and liquidity on its central limit order book, which it said benefits all participants through more efficient pricing.
Program Ends Amid Wash Trading Scrutiny
The Block reported on September 30, 2026, that Kalshi's decision to end the incentive program comes amid allegations of wash trading on the exchange, a practice in which traders buy and sell to themselves or coordinate trades to artificially inflate reported volume.
Kalshi's monthly trading volume reached $52.98 billion in September, according to the same report, underlining how large the exchange's markets have grown since prediction markets took off as a mainstream product in the US.
Kalshi has built its prediction markets business into one of the largest in the US, covering everything from economic indicators to sports outcomes, an area of growing interest for US sportsbook operators and bettors as they track how federally regulated prediction markets compete with state-licensed sports betting products.
Ending a volume-based rewards program removes one of the mechanisms critics have cited as a potential incentive to artificially boost reported trading activity.
While You Are Here, Why Not Check Out Our: Casino Games Hub & Free Slots?
Kalshi operates as a CFTC-regulated designated contract market, which lets it offer event contracts nationwide without the state-by-state licensing that applies to traditional sportsbooks.
That regulatory structure has fuelled rapid growth in sports-related contracts on the platform, alongside economic and political markets, and has drawn scrutiny from state gaming regulators who argue some of its sports contracts function like unlicensed sports betting.
The CFTC filing does not change the underlying regulatory debate, but it does remove a trading incentive that had been in place since the program's introduction, with Kalshi retaining the right, under its own rules, to reintroduce or amend similar programs in the future.
Refer to Cashback Terms & Conditions for full program terms.
