Kalshi’s 15-minute gold markets overtook equivalent Ether markets in September, only weeks after their August launch. According to data from Predict Charts, the gold contracts recorded 542 million contracts traded and about $5 million in estimated fees during the month, compared with 318 million contracts and $2.6 million for Ether. Bitcoin still led by a wide margin, with estimated fees of $60.4 million.
Gold gained traction quickly after launch
The contracts allow traders to take positions on whether gold will rise or fall over 15-minute intervals. In September, those markets produced nearly double the estimated fees of comparable Ether markets.
The growth came as Kalshi’s broader commodities business expanded. The company said in September that commodities trading volume had reached $400 million within seven months, more than four times the volume its crypto markets had generated at the same stage.
Kalshi said, 「Crypto markets demonstrated the potential for new categories on Kalshi to scale from tens of millions to billions in monthly volume,」.
Bitcoin stayed on top while gold moved past Ether
Data cited in the report show that after launching in December, 15-minute Bitcoin markets became Kalshi’s biggest market series outside parlays in July. The short-duration Ether contracts also grew quickly, rising to 233 million contracts from 6.1 million between January and July 2026.
Even so, although Ether’s 15-minute contracts climbed further to 318 million in September, gold moved ahead with 542 million contracts traded that month.
The report also noted a related Reuters item saying Kalshi is in advanced talks to raise new funding at a $40 billion valuation.
Short-duration contracts made up most non-sport fees
Short-duration financial markets are becoming a bigger part of Kalshi’s business. An InGame analysis published Tuesday found that 15-minute crypto, commodity and financial markets generated $20.4 million in fees in the seven days through Oct. 5, accounting for 80% of the platform’s non-sport fees during that period.
The same analysis found that these markets generated fees at a higher rate than their share of volume would suggest. InGame estimated that over the last week, short-duration markets accounted for 13% of Kalshi’s trading volume but 20% of its fees.
InGame journalist Daniel O’Boyle wrote: 「This is because Kalshi uses a fee formula that depends on the odds of a contract — fees are higher as a share of volume on contracts priced at close to 50/50 odds than they would be on the biggest favorites or longshots.」