Kalshi Under Fire: Allegations of Wash Trading in Crypto Perpetuals Surface

Key Points Trading platform Kalshi is confronting accusations that its cryptocurrency trading volumes may contain manipulated transactions. A market participant named Beni highlighted approximately $538.6 million in Ethereum perpetual trading volume compared to just $3.1 million in open positions. The platform’s cryptocurrency division head rejected the accusations, stating that prediction market metrics were being conflated with perpetual futures data. The exchange’s incentive structure specifically prohibits self-trading, wash transactions, and coordinated deals from qualifying for fee rebates. As of September 21, the CFTC had not filed any public enforcement proceedings against Kalshi regarding wash trading in cryptocurrency perpetual contracts. The regulated trading venue Kalshi is confronting new allegations suggesting that portions of its cryptocurrency trading activity might involve wash trading, despite the absence of formal regulatory accusations from oversight bodies. The concerns were initially voiced by a trader known as Beni through a social media post on September 20. This thread is 100% gonna blow up and I am gonna look like a salty c****again but @icobeast pissed me off so now it's gonna get ugly Kalshi fakes their crypto volume and I can prove it NOTHING pisses me off more than watching a company treat its own customers like complete… https://t.co/1LWMVGVaeU — Beni (@beniduboss) September 19, 2026 Beni drew attention to approximately $538.6 million in daily Ethereum perpetual contract volume set against roughly $3.1 million in outstanding open interest. Based on his analysis, this translates to a turnover ratio of approximately 174 times the open interest figure. Market Participant Raises Red Flags About Volume Metrics Beni contended that the trading volume levels seemed disproportionately elevated relative to the actual positions being maintained in the marketplace. He additionally referenced a Kalshi ranking system that allegedly displayed the highest individual position at merely $17,598 at the time of his data capture. These specific numbers could not be verified independently through Kalshi’s currently available public interfaces due to the continuously fluctuating nature of market information. Beni’s critique also examined Kalshi’s limited-time fee rebate initiative for perpetual futures trading. According to a September regulatory submission to the CFTC, qualified takers participating in crypto perpetual markets may access rebates bringing their fees down to 0.003%. Qualified makers are eligible to earn payments equivalent to 0.003%, per the regulatory documentation. Beni suggested that this compensation framework might lower the economic barriers to executing matched transactions. Nevertheless, Kalshi’s program guidelines explicitly state that self-matched orders, wash trades, coordinated transactions, and other forms of suspected market manipulation are ineligible for rebate compensation. The platform further indicates that its chief regulatory officer maintains authority to expel participants from the incentive program and initiate enforcement procedures.