Glossary
Kalshi & arbitrage glossary
Every term you'll see on KalshiArb, the Kalshi API, or in arbitrage-trading docs — explained in plain English with a worked example. Updated as Kalshi's mechanics evolve.
Kalshi market mechanics
- Best AskThe lowest price sellers are willing to accept for a contract side (YES/NO) on the current Kalshi order book.
- Best BidThe highest price investors are willing to pay for a YES or NO side of a Kalshi market.
- Event TickerA code that groups mutually exclusive Kalshi markets under one event (e.g., CPIYY-26MAR) and links its child YES/NO contracts.
- Market TickerThe code that identifies a single Kalshi binary contract under an event.
- No AskThe NO ask is the lowest NO price offered to sell NO contracts.
- No ContractThe NO contract is the opposite side of a binary Kalshi market, paying $1 if the event does not occur.
- Series TickerThe event_ticker that groups all related child markets under one recurring Kalshi series.
- Settlement PriceThe final per-contract value used to determine payouts at resolution (usually $1 for a winning side, $0 for the losing side).
- Tick SizeTick size is the minimum price increment by which Kalshi contract prices can move (1 cent).
- Yes AskThe ASK price to buy YES on a Kalshi market; the YES side’s best offer.
- Yes ContractA YES contract is the binary Kalshi market side that pays $1 if the event resolves true, $0 otherwise.
Arbitrage concepts
- Binary ArbitrageExploiting a price gap where YES + NO best asks < $1.00 by buying both sides.
- EdgeThe guaranteed profit margin when YES and NO prices sum to under $1.00 on a Kalshi binary.
- Guaranteed EdgeBuying both YES and NO when their bests sum to under $1 locks in a risk-defined profit (edge) at settlement.
- Intra-Market ArbitrageBuying both sides of a binary when the best-ask YES and NO sum to under $1.00 locks in a risk-defined edge.
- Risk-Free ArbitrageA named edge where buying both YES and NO across a Kalshi binary can lock profit if the best asks sum to less than $1.00 (not truly risk-free in practice).
Trading & order types
- 24H VolumeTotal number of contracts traded in the last 24 hours for a market.
- Fill-or-Kill OrderAn order that must be fully filled immediately or cancelled in its entirety.
- Limit OrderAn order to buy or sell at a specified price or better, not at market.
- LiquidityLiquidity is the ease of buying or selling a contract without moving the price much.
- Market OrderAn order to buy or sell at the best available price, immediately; may incur slippage.
- Open InterestTotal number of unsettled Kalshi contracts across YES/NO in a market.
- SlippageThe difference between expected execution price and the actual fill price after placing an order.
- SpreadThe gap between the best bid and best ask on a contract side.
Kalshi policy & regulation
- CFTCU.S. regulator overseeing Kalshi as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and enforcing trading rules.
- Designated Contract MarketKalshi’s CFTC-regulated venue for trading binary event contracts (YES/NO) with USD settlements.
- Geo RestrictionsKalshi eligibility rules by state and residency determine who can trade; check Kalshi’s published list for current limits.
- KALSHI FeeTrading fee charged on each order, applied per contract and per fill.
- KYCKnow Your Customer; Kalshi requires identity verification (name, SSN, address) before trading.
API & tooling
- API KeyA unique token used to sign and authorize requests to Kalshi's REST and WebSocket APIs.
- Rate LimitMaximum number of API requests allowed in a time window for Kalshi APIs.
- Rest APIA REST API is Kalshi’s read/write interface for markets, events, and trades via HTTP endpoints.
- Websocket FeedReal-time streaming channel delivering live Kalshi market data (order book, trades, and ticks).