Can US users actually trade Polymarket?

Polymarket geo-blocks US IP addresses and, per a 2022 CFTC settlement, US persons are prohibited from trading regardless of IP. Using a VPN to bypass the block violates Polymarket's terms of service and may create regulatory exposure. If you are a US trader, Kalshi is the compliant path to the same category of product.

Which platform has better liquidity in 2026?

It depends on the category. Polymarket historically led on headline political and crypto markets, but Kalshi's regulated flows have closed or reversed that gap through 2025–2026. Kalshi dominates macro-data, weather, sports, and entertainment categories that Polymarket does not list at all. On any given market, check the top-of-book depth before assuming.

Which platform has lower fees?

Headline trading fees are comparable — Kalshi's transparent 7¢-formula versus Polymarket's zero explicit fee plus on-chain gas and bridge costs. For small trades under a few hundred dollars, Kalshi is meaningfully cheaper because gas fees dominate on Polymarket. For large trades, Polymarket can be cheaper if you already hold USDC on Polygon.

Do the same contracts exist on both platforms?

Rarely one-to-one. Some flagship markets (major elections, Fed decisions) exist on both with slightly different spec wording. Most markets are unique to one platform: macro data, weather, and US sports are Kalshi-only categories; some crypto-native and international markets are Polymarket-only. Prices can diverge, though rarely by much on shared markets.

Do I need crypto to use Kalshi?

No. Kalshi is a fully USD-denominated exchange. You fund via ACH or debit card from a standard US bank account, positions settle to a USD cash balance, and withdrawals go back via ACH. There is no wallet, no bridge, no gas, and no crypto anywhere in the flow — that is the entire point of the CFTC-regulated structure.

How does tax reporting compare?

Kalshi issues a standard 1099-B at year-end that matches brokerage-style reporting, and depending on the contract type gains may qualify for Section 1256 60/40 treatment. Polymarket generates no US tax forms, and every position resolution plus every USDC-to-fiat conversion is a separate taxable crypto event, dramatically increasing bookkeeping complexity.

Which platform resolves markets faster?

Kalshi resolves automatically minutes after the named resolution source publishes, because settlement is centralized. Polymarket resolves via UMA's optimistic oracle, which introduces a mandatory dispute window (typically two hours to two days) before payout. For traders who want capital to recycle quickly, Kalshi's centralized settlement is a real edge.

Are the odds usually the same on both platforms?

For shared headline markets, prices generally track within a few cents due to cross-platform arbitrageurs, but persistent gaps do open — especially around news events when one order book absorbs flow faster than the other. Non-shared markets have no cross-reference at all. Never assume price equivalence; check both books when comparing.

Kalshi vs Polymarket: the honest comparison for US traders in 2026

The 30-second version

Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated US exchange that settles binary event contracts in USD via ACH. Polymarket is a non-custodial smart-contract protocol on Polygon that settles binary event contracts in USDC via a Web3 wallet. Kalshi is legal in all 50 states; Polymarket geo-blocks US IP addresses. If you are a US trader who wants regulated exposure and a 1099 at year-end, Kalshi is the default answer. If you are non-US or already fluent in DeFi and accept the regulatory ambiguity, Polymarket remains a real option.

Regulation

This is the single biggest structural difference and drives everything else.

Kalshi's status

Kalshi is a federally licensed Designated Contract Market under the CFTC. Customer funds are segregated in qualified US bank accounts, every contract spec is filed and approved before listing, and dispute resolution follows CFTC procedures. There is a real regulator with real authority.

Polymarket's status

Polymarket is a smart-contract protocol, not a licensed exchange. A 2022 CFTC settlement required Polymarket to block US users, and the site enforces that geo-block at the front-end. There is no US regulator supervising Polymarket, no segregated customer funds in the traditional sense, and no formal dispute-resolution authority — resolutions run through an on-chain oracle (UMA).

US access

Kalshi works in every US state without a VPN, without a crypto wallet, and without any workarounds. You sign up with an ID and a bank account. Polymarket blocks US IP addresses and, per its terms of service, US persons regardless of IP. Using a VPN to bypass the geo-block is a violation of Polymarket's terms and, depending on how you interpret the 2022 CFTC settlement, potentially exposes the user to regulatory risk. This alone is a deal-breaker for most Americans.

Settlement currency and money flow

Kalshi settles in USD. You fund the account via ACH or debit card, positions settle to a USD cash balance, and you withdraw via ACH to the same bank account you deposited from. There is no crypto involved anywhere in the flow. Polymarket settles in USDC on Polygon. To deposit you need a Web3 wallet, USDC on Polygon (which usually means bridging from Ethereum or buying via an exchange), and enough MATIC to pay gas. To withdraw, reverse the process. Every one of those steps has fees, friction, and — for US users — tax implications.

Liquidity and market breadth

Through 2024 Polymarket had noticeably deeper books on a handful of headline political and crypto markets. Through 2025 and into 2026, Kalshi's liquidity has scaled sharply as regulated flows moved onshore, and the gap on the headline markets has closed or reversed. Kalshi also has significantly broader coverage of regulated US categories — macro data releases, weather, sports outcomes, entertainment — because the CFTC listing pipeline lets Kalshi ship new contract classes at a pace Polymarket's committee-driven listing process cannot match.

Fees compared

Kalshi's fee is a public formula: roughly 7¢ × contracts × price × (1 − price). On a 50/50 market that is about 1.75% of notional. Polymarket does not charge an explicit trading fee, but the true cost of a Polymarket trade includes gas to approve USDC, gas to place the order, gas to withdraw, and bridge fees if you are converting from Ethereum or fiat. On small trades those fixed costs dominate; on large trades the arithmetic favors Polymarket. Neither platform charges a spread markup on top of the book.

Tax treatment

Kalshi issues a 1099-B at year-end. Depending on the contract, gains are treated as Section 1256-style 60/40 or as ordinary short-term capital gains. The reporting is clean and matches what you would get from a brokerage. Polymarket gains are crypto disposals: every winning contract is a taxable event denominated in USDC, and every USDC-to-fiat conversion is another taxable event. The bookkeeping is meaningfully harder and there is no 1099 to reconcile against.

Who should use which

If you are a US trader who wants regulated, USD-denominated event contracts with clean tax reporting, Kalshi is the correct choice by a wide margin — the regulatory certainty alone is worth more than any liquidity edge Polymarket used to have. If you live outside the US, or you are already fully set up in DeFi and comfortable with the tax bookkeeping, Polymarket remains a legitimate and often more liquid venue for certain categories.