Kalshi Referral Code: RATE: for $25 Bonus in Trading Credits

Kalshi’s $25 Bonus new-user bonus with code RATE takes three steps: enter the Kalshi referral code at signup, deposit, and trade $10 in event contracts.

Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange where contract prices work like live odds, so you can put that $25 toward October’s Fed decision, Bitcoin’s price today at 5 p.m. ET, the Los Angeles mayoral race, the pro baseball champion, or tonight’s Falcons–Packers game. I’ve claimed it myself and will show you where the referral code field is.

Kalshi’s bonus clears fast, with just $10 traded to unlock it. If a bigger bonus matters more than a fast one, Polymarket currently pays $50 trading bonus on a $10 deposit, the larger offer of the two.

Does Kalshi have a welcome bonus?

Yes. Kalshi has a $25 sign bonus for all new accounts. Enter the Kalshi referral code ‘RATE‘ in the registration form, deposit at least $1, and trade $10 to qualify. You can use your bonus to trade on sports, upcoming elections, economic indicators like Fed rate decisions, and even pop culture. One current example is the market tracking the GTA VI release date. This code is tested and verified daily, making it one of the most reliable and active promos in 2026.

Kalshi referral code details

The Kalshi RATE referral code unlocks a $25 trading bonus for first-time users. The free bonus credits to your trading balance after you complete one qualifying trade of at least $10. Bonus funds can be used on any market — sports, politics, crypto, weather — and trade winnings are fully withdrawable.

Kalshi promo code terms and conditions

The $25 bonus is available to new Kalshi accounts. You will need to use the referral code RATE during registration to qualify, as the code cannot be applied retroactively. This promo is ongoing and has no current expiration date.

• You will be required to verify your identity through Verify.com with a selfie holding your driver’s license or passport.
• This offer is limited to one promo per account.
• You need to be in an eligible state to activate your account (Nevada is currently on the exclusion list)
• You will need to deposit at least $1 and meet the minimum trade requirement of $10 before Kalshi credits the $25 promo to your account.

Overall, it was fairly easy to get signed up, complete KYC, and get the bonus.

How to claim your $25 Kalshi bonus

Claiming the Kalshi bonus takes three steps: create an account with code RATE, fund it and complete at least $10 in qualifying trades.

Step 1: Create an account and enter code RATE

Select Sign Up, provide the required information and complete identity verification. Open the referral-code field and enter RATE if it is not already applied. A checkmark should confirm that the code is active.

Step 2: Fund your account

Deposit at least $1 using one of Kalshi’s available payment methods. Kalshi does not offer a no-deposit bonus, so you must fund the account before qualifying.

Step 3: Trade at least $10

Choose an event contract, read its resolution rules and select Yes or No. Complete at least $10 in qualifying trades to unlock the $25 bonus.

Why is my code not working?

If your Kalshi referral code is not working, you likely have an existing account or you entered an invalid code. To fix this, ensure you entered the RATE at sign-up or enter it in the Account section before you make your first deposit. This code is valid through September 2026.

Kalshi promos for existing users

Kalshi does not run ongoing reload bonuses or odds boosts like traditional sports betting sites. Existing users have three ways to earn beyond their daily trading returns.

• You can earn up to $40 for each friend you refer. To do this, find your unique referral code under Account and share it with your friends. They will need to register, fund their account, and complete 100 trades within 30 days. Once done, you both receive a variable bonus. There is no cap on how many you can refer. The 100-trade requirement is a higher bar than most referral programs, which typically pay out on a first deposit or single qualifying trade. If your friend doesn’t have a personal referral link, they can use the Kalshi bonus code RATE and get the $25 new sign-up bonus instead.
• The Volume and Liquidity Incentive Programs, running through October 1, 2026, reward active traders automatically with up to $0.005 per contract on volume and between $10 and $1,000 daily for placing resting orders on eligible markets. No opt-in required.
• Kalshi also pays 3.75% APY on both cash and open positions for accounts with a balance of $250 or more, with interest accruing daily and paying out monthly.

Kalshi vs Polymarket: Which one is better?

Top 5 markets on Kalshi today

• A 25-basis-point hike leads the October Fed market at 67%, up 16 points. Yes is listed at 68¢ and No at 33¢.
• Bitcoin finishing at $83,500 or higher by 5 p.m. ET is listed at 53%. Yes is trading for 53¢ and No for 48¢.
• Nithya Raman leads the Los Angeles mayoral market at 58%, up 15 points, while Karen Bass is at 42%. Yes on Raman is listed at 58¢ and No at 43¢.
• Los Angeles Dodgers lead the pro baseball champion market at 31.5%, down 0.3 points. Yes is trading for 31.7¢ and No for 68.4¢.
• Green Bay leads Atlanta at 69%, down one point from yesterday. Yes on the Packers is listed at 70¢ and No at 31¢. The Falcons visit the Packers tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

For additional insight on current activity across platforms, including recent volume and open interest, check out our Prediction Market Volume page.

Markets last updated Sept. 24, 2026 at 8:31 a.m. ET.

Is Kalshi legal?

Kalshi is a CFTC-designated contract market, but whether that federal status preempts state gambling laws remains actively disputed. On August 28, the Ninth Circuit held at the preliminary-injunction stage that Kalshi had not shown likely preemption for its Nevada sports-event contracts and remanded election-contract issues. Kalshi petitioned for rehearing en banc on September 9; that petition remains pending. On Sept. 16, the Ninth Circuit reversed part of the California tribal-case ruling and found the tribes likely to succeed on their IGRA claim. The district court must still decide the remaining injunction factors.

The app is legally available in over 140 countries through a single global liquidity pool, including major markets like Mexico, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, and South Korea. However, the app restricts access in approximately 45 jurisdictions, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela.

Within the United States, Kalshi operates across all states, though 11 states have issued cease-and-desist orders or restrictions making sports contracts unavailable.

Kalshi legal states and market status

Unlike traditional sportsbooks, Kalshi’s federal CFTC designation means it operates in states where sports betting isn’t legal, including California, where voters rejected legalization in 2022. On Sept. 16, the Ninth Circuit reversed part of the California tribal-case ruling and found the tribes likely to succeed on their IGRA claim. The district court must still decide the remaining injunction factors.

Kalshi is currently active with promos in 48 states + DC. Kalshi does not operate in Nevada and Michigan, but is available elsewhere. The bonus is not available in Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, and Ohio, but you can use the app in these states.

Latest news and updates

Here are the latest updates our team is covering on Kalshi. This coverage spans product releases, CFTC and litigation news, and trading volume.

Sept. 18, 2026: Kalshi requested CFTC approval for rules covering cash-settled perpetual futures on large-cap US equities. The filing remains pending and proposes a Nov. 2 effective date, or earlier if permitted; it does not confirm a launch.

Sept. 16–17, 2026: Missouri’s attorney general issued a cease-and-desist letter requiring compliance or cessation of Missouri sports-event contracts within 30 days. No lawsuit or operator response has been verified.

Sept. 16, 2026: The Ninth Circuit reversed part of the California tribal-case ruling and found the tribes likely to succeed on their IGRA claim. The district court must still decide the remaining injunction factors.

Sept. 11, 2026: Kalshi self-certified new college-volleyball and lacrosse contract classes after earlier filings for U.S. Treasury-holdings and Eurovision Asia markets; a separate VOTECOUNT amendment under 10-day review clarifies election vote-count settlement rules.

Sept. 10, 2026: Mark Robert Moran sued Kalshi over candidate-trading discipline; the allegations remain unresolved.

By Sept. 10, 2026: The CFTC filed an amicus brief in Kalshi’s Second Circuit New York appeal, arguing that the Commission has regulated event contracts for decades and continues to hold the same jurisdiction as those contracts expand to sports. The Second Circuit has not ruled.

Sept. 9, 2026: Kalshi petitioned the full Ninth Circuit to rehear its Nevada sports-event-contract appeal. Rehearing has not been granted.

Sept. 9, 2026: Maryland and Kalshi filed opposing supplemental-authority letters in Kalshi’s Fourth Circuit appeal. Maryland says the Ninth Circuit’s Nevada ruling supports state regulation of sports contracts; Kalshi says that ruling is nonbinding and wrongly decided. The Fourth Circuit has not ruled.

Sept. 4, 2026: Arizona asked the Ninth Circuit to apply the Nevada ruling to vacate the sports-contract portion of a separate preliminary injunction and remand election-contract issues. The court has not ruled on the request.

Sept. 8, 2026: Illinois officials asked the federal court to consider an Iowa ruling that denied Kalshi a preliminary injunction. Kalshi’s Illinois injunction request remains pending, and the Illinois court has not adopted the Iowa court’s reasoning.

How Kalshi works

Kalshi lets users trade on the outcome of real-world events through event contracts. In simple terms, you can think of it like making a bet with a friend—except you’re trading against other people on a regulated exchange, not against a sportsbook. The price reflects what the market (other people) thinks will happen, and you can sell your position anytime before the event settles.

Trading is available in a range of categories, including politics, sports, crypto, and economics. Here are a few examples of how Kalshi works: 

• Who will win the 2028 presidential election?
• Pro Football Champion?
• Will Bitcoin be above $100,000 on December 31?
• What will the Fed decision be in December?
• What will Tesla say during their next earnings call?

To participate, you buy a “Yes” or “No” contract that reflects what you think will happen. Each contract is priced between $0.01 and $0.99, representing the market’s consensus probability. 

• A “Yes” contract priced at $0.65 implies a 65% market belief that the event will occur.
• A “No” contract priced at $0.35 implies a 35% belief that it will not.
  

Learn more: How to trade contracts

When the event settles, winning contracts are paid out at $1 each, while losing contracts expire at $0. Profits are simply the difference between your purchase price and the $1 payout, minus Kalshi’s trading fee. Consider the following example: 

• You buy 100 “Yes” contracts on “Inflation above 3% in Q4” at $0.54, for a total cost of $54.
• If the event resolves in your favor, your position settles at $1 per contract, for a $100 total.
• Your profit is $46, less roughly $1.75 in fees, for a net gain of $44.25.

Kalshi charges a $0.01-$0.02 fee per contract, depending on the trade price, with caps in place for 100-contract trades. Trades settle automatically once an event’s outcome is confirmed by a designated third-party source. 

The platform’s structure makes it one of the simplest ways for traders to participate in event-driven markets within a fully regulated framework. For active traders seeking a transparent and compliant option, Kalshi remains a good choice. 

Kalshi sports markets vs. sports betting

Kalshi lets you trade on sports markets with other sports fans. While different, the experience feels similar once you adjust to the different naming conventions and probability instead of the usual sportsbook odds. A key benefit to Kalshi: You can sell your position before the event settles if the market moves in your favor. You can’t do this at a sportsbook. There’s also no cap on winners.

How it works is pretty simple. You buy a contract with a simple Yes or No question priced between $0.01 and $0.99. Pricing is based on the market’s estimated probability. If your sports prediction is correct, the contract pays out $1.

As an example, if you buy a “Will Kansas City win the Pro Football Championship?” contract at $0.53, and they win, you profit $0.47 per contract.

Available sports markets and contracts

Kalshi is all over the news for rapidly expanding its sports offerings. The prediction market covers NFL, NBA, college football, college basketball, MLB, NHL, soccer, tennis, and esports. Kalshi is usually first to market with new contracts, including UFC events and PGA Tour stops. Beyond simple game winner contracts, Kalshi offers:

• Spread contracts: This is the spread. Questions like “Will the Chiefs win by more than 3.5 points?” cover point spreads for professional and college football.
• Totals contracts: This is the totals. Questions like “Will the game have over 47.5 total points?” with options for full game, quarter, or half totals.
• Touchdown contracts: This is your props. Player prop markets for anytime touchdown scorer, first touchdown, and multiple touchdowns. Note: passing touchdowns don’t count. Only the player who possesses the ball in the end zone.
• Player stat contracts: Passing, rushing, and receiving yards, plus sacks, interceptions, and other stats.
• Combo contracts – Kalshi’s version of parlays. The “Build Your Combo” feature lets you combine multiple contracts from the same game into a single position. One user reported receiving odds more than 25% higher on a three-leg combo at Kalshi compared to DraftKings.

Kalshi app feedback

Kalshi’s external reviews have mixed results. Mostly complaints about contracts settling (why it’s important to read) and bugs related to the app. The company is more active on social channels than third-party sites.

They do have an official presence on Reddit at r/Kalshi, though the team appears less active there compared to Discord. Some users have reported slow response times when raising issues through Reddit, with complaints about unanswered emails and support delays. Discord remains the better channel. Reddit is more of a community discussion space where users share experiences.

Apple store: 69K downloads with a 4.7/5 rating

TrustPilot: 75 reviews with a 1.9/5 rating

Discord.gg/Kalshi: 18K members

How Kalshi trading fees work

Kalshi makes money by charging a small transaction fee on trades collected from both the buyer and seller. If you’re coming from sports betting, think of this as Kalshi’s version of the juice—except instead of being baked into the odds, it’s charged transparently on each trade like a brokerage commission.

Most markets on the platform have no fees, but certain event categories do carry a variable fee based on contract price and quantity (100 contracts). The fee formula is: 0.07 × C × P × (1-P), with C being your contract count and P being the price (a 50¢ contract would be 0.5). Because of the P × (1-P) component, fees are highest on contracts priced near 50¢ and lowest near the extremes (1¢ or 99¢). This reflects Kalshi’s approach of charging based on potential profit. A 50/50 contract has the most upside, so it carries the highest fee.

There are two fee types: taker fees kick in when you match an order already on the book, while maker fees (which are lower) apply when your order sits and waits for someone else to fill it. Some markets also have a multiplier that adjusts the standard rate.

Here’s a breakdown of markets with non-standard fees:

Kalshi vs. other prediction market apps

Kalshi currently has the edge in the prediction markets. The combination of interest on balances, sports categories, and high position limits makes it the strongest all-around. This is especially true for sports bettors looking to trade significant capital. Here is a breakdown of how Kalshi compares right now to Polymarket, Crypto.com and PredictIt.

• Polymarket offers zero trading fees and the deepest liquidity on political and crypto markets, and US users now have direct access to Polymarket US.
• PredictIt pioneered political prediction markets and still has a loyal user base, but the $850 position cap and 10% profit fee make it impractical for anyone trading more than small amounts. It’s best suited for casual political junkies who want skin in the game.

Kalshi deposit and withdrawal options

Getting money into Kalshi is easy with five deposit options. If you want to avoid additional fees, I suggest you go with bank transfer or crypto. Both options are free, though bank transfers take a few days to clear. Debit cards and mobile have a 2% transaction fee. Wire transfers are available for larger deposits starting at $1,000. For crypto users, you can use SOL, USDC, BTC, and WLD.

Deposit options

How to cash out

Once a contract settles, your payout is available within two hours. Crypto is the fastest and cheapest way to cash out. Debit cards can arrive in under an hour but carry a $2 fee. Kalshi holds withdrawals based on how you deposited: 3 days for debit, 7 days for same-bank ACH, and 30 days if withdrawing to a different bank. Daily debit withdrawals cap at $2,500; bank transfers have no limit.

Kalshi tax considerations

Kalshi reports all trading activity to the IRS, so if you hit certain reporting thresholds, expect to receive tax documents. According to Kalshi’s Help Center, they issue three types of forms: a 1099-INT for interest payments, a 1099-MISC for credits and rewards (the sign-up bonus), and a 1099-B for transaction proceeds from crypto transfers.

Kalshi calculates your profits and losses using FIFO (First-In-First-Out) accounting, and your P&L data (including fees and rebates) updates on the first of each month. For a full estimate of your crypto tax exposure across wallets and platforms, our free tax calculator supports multiple cost basis methods including FIFO.

Additional prediction market site promos

Kalshi is one of several regulated prediction market sites operating in the US through the CFTC. If you want to compare sites like Kalshi or hold accounts at multiple exchanges, the platforms below are worth considering, and most have a decent promo or sign-up offer available.

• Polymarket: Polymarket is the largest prediction market by global volume, with deep liquidity across politics, sports, and culture markets. Enter invite code RATE at signup and unlock a Deposit $10 get a $50 trading bonus bonus and skip the US waitlist. See our Polymarket promo code page for full details.
• Underdog Predict: Underdog Predict covers a broad slate of sports event contracts, including NFL, NBA, MLB, and college sports. Enter code DEFIRATE at signup for a $50 bonus. See our Underdog Predict promo code page for full details.
• FanDuel Predicts: FanDuel offers $100 in Predicts Bonus when a new customer completes at least $1 in trades per day for five days. The offer is applied automatically. See our FanDuel Predicts promo code page for full details.
• DraftKings Predictions: DraftKings Predictions is available in most U.S. states. New users can claim a Spend $5+, Get $200 in Bonuses (Paid Over 21 Days) bonus with no promo code. See our DraftKings Predictions promo code page for full details.
• Gemini: Gemini brings prediction markets into an established crypto trading platform, giving users one account for event contracts and digital assets. Enter promo code Not Required at signup to Trade $10, Get $10 and explore its growing prediction market offering. See our Gemini promo code page for full details.
• Crypto.com: Crypto.com offers prediction markets alongside its full cryptocurrency trading platform, with deposits accepted in both fiat and digital currencies. Sign up with code DEFI for a $50 new user bonus. See our Crypto.com promo code page for full details.
• OG.com: OG is the standalone prediction markets app from Crypto.com, offering sports, politics, economics, and culture markets. See our OG.com promo code page for the current welcome offer.
• Robinhood: Robinhood offers prediction markets through a Kalshi partnership, with event contracts available directly alongside stocks and crypto. New users can claim up to $200 through the exclusive invite link. See our Robinhood promo code page for full details.

Our final score: 4.7 / 5.0

Kalshi gets a 4.7 out of 5 with room to improve on the operational side. The app volume tells the story. Elections, politics, and major sporting events drive the bulk of trading activity, with sports contracts now accounting for roughly 90% of Kalshi’s business, with some expansion in politics and mention markets.

Liquidity on these markets runs deep enough to absorb institutional-sized orders. The same cannot be said for Kalshi’s more eccentric contracts on sneaker releases, celebrity appearances, and weather. The thin order books make it difficult to enter or exit trades at scale.

The nearly 4% annual on cash balances, including funds tied up in open positions, is a decent selling feature. We increased the score after Kalshi released a responsible trading program, which includes self-exclusion, trading limits, and resources for help.

Frequently asked questions