Kalshi Says CFTC Hasn’t Contacted It Over $5B “Unusual” Trading

Kalshi has pushed back against reports that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reviewing a suspicious pattern of trading in its Ether perpetual futures market. The exchange says it has not been contacted by regulators and doubts there is any formal examination underway. The controversy centers on a reported cluster of rapid, nearly identical trades around roughly $5,500 each, allegations that some observers are framing as potential wash trading. The dispute comes as Kalshi’s perpetual futures business has expanded quickly since its May launch. Key takeaways Kalshi says it has not received contact from the CFTC and does not believe a formal review is taking place. The CFTC scrutiny described by the Wall Street Journal relates to a repeated $5,500 trade-size pattern in Ether perpetual futures. Kalshi attributes repeated order sizes to liquidity incentive programs that reward makers for resting orders within a price band—not to rewards for executed trade volume. Kalshi argues the activity reflects normal market-making dynamics with many takers hitting a fixed-size resting order, rather than wash trading. The Journal also reported equity-linked incentives tied to trading-volume targets, which Kalshi’s response did not directly address. CFTC review report meets Kalshi denial On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the CFTC is examining a pattern of rapid trades clustered around $5,500 in Kalshi’s Ether perpetual futures. The report cited a person familiar with the matter and said the trading behavior has sparked allegations of wash trading. Kalshi responded by disputing the premise of any regulatory action. Elisabeth Diana, head of communications at Kalshi, told Cointelegraph that the company “has not been contacted by the CFTC” and “doesn’t believe there is any formal examination.” She further characterized the chatter as “rumors seeded by competitors,” adding that the behavior is consistent with liquidity incentive programs common in financial markets. Diana urged people not to rely on social media claims, stating: “Don’t believe everything you read on X.” What the reported trade pattern suggests The trades described by the Journal occurred within one of Kalshi’s perpetual futures markets, where participants speculate on the price of an underlying asset without taking spot ownership. In this case, the underlying is Ether. According to the Journal, trades of roughly $5,500 each accounted for more than $5 billion in Ether perp volume over the past month. The scale of the repeated-size activity is important because wash trading allegations typically emerge when volume appears to rise without genuine economic risk transfer between independent parties. The Journal also reported that Kalshi offered some traders opportunities to buy equity in the company if they met trading-volume targets. It said the incentives included waived trading fees and monthly cash payments designed to encourage large traders to provide liquidity.