The US-based exchange Kalshi, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), faces accusations of wash trading on its ether futures market. Research firm Stealth Neolab reported that identical trades of $5 500 dominated the platform's volume, accounting for 48% to 58% of total ether perpetual volume on four separate days.
Beni, co-founder of Stealth Neolab, noted that the ether perpetual market recorded approximately $539 million in 24-hour volume against $3.1 million in open interest. The researcher suggested that such activity could potentially constitute market manipulation or fraud if the exchange directed or incentivized these trades.
Kalshi’s head of crypto, known as IcoBeast, rejected the allegations, stating that the researcher conflated prediction markets with crypto perpetual futures. The company maintains that its rebate programs are standard industry practice to ensure liquidity, similar to those offered by Binance, Hyperliquid, and CME.
On 16 September, Kalshi filed an update to its perpetual rebate program with the CFTC. The policy reduces taker fees to 0.003% for self-clearing members but explicitly excludes trades under investigation for wash trading or self-matching. The exchange's chief regulatory officer retains the authority to revoke a firm's participation in the program.
While the CFTC warned in August that volume-based rewards could incentivize artificial trading, no formal enforcement action has been initiated against Kalshi. The exchange previously reported that its bitcoin perpetual market reached $1 billion in volume within days of its June launch.
