Kalshi requires traders to disclose employers to curb insider trading in sensitive markets

Kalshi has rolled out mandatory employment verification for traders in sensitive markets, among other measures to combat insider trading and market manipulation on the platform.

In a Tuesday blog post, the company said it has introduced a risk-scoring system for markets, expanded screening requirements, and launched new whistleblower tools that allow users to report abusive trading activity directly.

The new measures are "effective immediately" in response to a report from its independent Surveillance Audit Committee, which was established in February to oversee the platform's market integrity and enforcement program, according to the post.

Under the new framework, proposed markets will receive a risk score based on factors including market importance, regulatory compliance, insider trading risk, and national security concerns.

"By running an assessment on the national security risk a market might present before we list it, we can better prevent dangerous events from having a negative effect on our markets — or vice versa," Bobby DeNault, Kalshi's enforcement and legal counsel, wrote in the post.

For markets carrying heightened insider or manipulation risks, Kalshi now requires traders to disclose their employers before participating. This approach allows the company to screen out presumptive insiders before a trade is placed, per the post.

Kalshi also noted that it made over 20 referrals to law enforcement, conducted more than 150 investigations, and blocked over 100 potential insider trades through its screening tools during the first quarter of this year.

Heightened oversight

Kalshi and its rival Polymarket have ramped up oversight of market abuse in recent months, as prediction markets continue to gain traction.

In April, U.S. prosecutors charged a soldier with using classified information to place bets on Polymarket ahead of the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

In May, a Google engineer was accused of misappropriating confidential company information to place Google-related trades on Polymarket, allegedly profiting about $1.2 million.

Last week, NPR reported that the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission were investigating former U.S. Rep. George Santos after Kalshi flagged suspicious trades tied to his attendance at President Trump's February State of the Union address, froze his account, and notified law enforcement.

Kalshi and Polymarket remain the dominant players in the prediction market sector. Kalshi recorded $16.81 billion in monthly volume in May, up from $14.81 billion in April. Polymarket posted $7.08 billion in volume last month, down from $9.01 billion in April.