Full Breakdown
Cantor Fitzgerald Opens Institutional Block Trading on Kalshi Prediction Markets
8/19/2026, 8:48:20 PM
Core Event
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is launching an institutional-scale block-trading service for event-based contracts on Kalshi, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated exchange. The bank will act as an Introducing Broker, arranging large, privately negotiated block trades away from Kalshi’s central order book for roughly 3,000 of its institutional clients, which include hedge funds and family offices. Susquehanna International Group’s dedicated prediction-markets arm, Susquehanna Predictions, will supply pricing and liquidity for these trades. The partnership is slated to be announced on August 19, when Cantor will confirm its role as broker and outline the process for submitting new contracts to the CFTC.
Background & Context
Prediction markets have expanded rapidly, driven largely by retail traders focused on sports and electoral outcomes. Kalshi completed its first custom block trade in April—a California carbon-allowance auction brokered for an environmental hedge fund—and has since pursued broader institutional outreach, including alliances with Interactive Brokers and other Wall Street intermediaries such as Clear Street, Marex and Talos. Cantor’s entry follows a pattern of investment banks adapting their established equities and fixed-income trading models to this emerging, regulated asset class.
Data & Statistics
- Approximately 3,000 institutional clients will gain access through Cantor.
- Block trades are executed off-exchange to avoid price volatility and are priced by Susquehanna Predictions.
- Contract categories of interest include iPhone unit-sales thresholds, AI-infrastructure costs, weather events, commodity prices and corporate earnings.
- Kalshi’s inaugural institutional block trade (April) involved a carbon-allowance auction; subsequent interest has focused on bespoke contracts for sectors such as technology and agriculture.
Official Statements & Responses
Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana explained that any new contract design will be submitted to the CFTC and must meet liquidity requirements before launch. Joe Grubb, head of business development at Susquehanna Predictions, highlighted the creative hedging possibilities that event contracts provide, suggesting that large-scale risk transfer will drive the next wave of growth. Max Crowley, vice-president of business development at Kalshi, observed that many institutional investors are seeking ways to hedge specific event risk but lack a clear mechanism to do so.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Prediction markets are growing rapidly, but institutional participation has not kept pace because investors have lacked the ability to transact at scale on a regulated exchange. The liquidity is here,” — Pascal Bandelier, co-CEO and global head of equities at Cantor in a press release
- “We will submit it to the CFTC and we have to make sure there is enough liquidity,” — Elisabeth Diana, kalshi spokesperson
- “We get a lot of questions of, I do want to hedge specific event risk, but I don’t know how to do it,” — Max Crowley, VP of business development at Kalshi
What’s Next
Cantor expects to extend the block-trading framework to additional regulated venues beyond Kalshi as client demand evolves. The partnership allows institutional investors to propose bespoke contracts, and Kalshi will continue to work with the CFTC to secure approval for new markets. The August 19 announcement will detail the operational rollout and outline how clients can request tailored event contracts.