Kalshi perps hit $1 billion in first week as Robinhood rivalry heats up
Kalshi's perpetual futures contracts crossed $1 billion in trading volume within one week of launch, CEO Tarek Mansour announced on CNBC's 'Fast Money.' The milestone contrasts sharply with Kalshi's prediction market, which took 40 months to reach the same figure, according to Yahoo Finance. Mansour emphasized strong customer demand during the segment and argued for workplace-disclosure requirements for traders. The launch arrived the same week that Robinhood began routing event contracts to its new affiliate exchange Rothera.
Robinhood already drives the majority of Kalshi's volume and just began routing contracts to its new Rothera exchange. Kalshi must prove its standalone derivatives product can retain retail flow that might otherwise migrate as both platforms expand their offerings.
Kalshi's crypto perpetual futures debut coincides with Robinhood routing event contracts to its new Rothera exchange, framing competition between two CFTC-regulated platforms in derivatives and prediction markets.