Kalshi has partnered with BitGo to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum-backed loans, allowing eligible institutional traders to fund leveraged perpetual futures positions while retaining ownership of their existing cryptocurrency holdings.
Kalshi and BitGo Introduce Crypto-Backed Futures Loans
The partnership will allow eligible traders to leverage their investment in Kalshi’s perpetual futures contracts with borrowed money. The deal provides for investors to hold onto their cryptocurrencies while lending to take advantage of a leveraged position on the exchange.
Kalshi Katalyst, the lending affiliate of Kalshi Prime, will provide loans under the new arrangement. BitGo Bank & Trust will act as the middleman in a three-party arrangement to keep the staked digital assets.
According to Kalshi Prime CEO Jeff Bandman, eligible collateral includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins. The company is planning to add more custody partners as its lending network grows.
The agreement is based on BitGo’s current institutional cryptocurrency custody services. A recent report has reviewed BitGo’s digital asset infrastructure, including their institutional clients and custody operations.
Kalshi Targets Institutional Traders Holding Bitcoin
The service is aimed at investors who want to gain exposure to futures trading without selling their current crypto assets, Bandman said.
“What we wanted to do was make it possible for customers to stay in crypto,” Bandman said.
He identified large Bitcoin holders and Latin American businesses using dollar-backed stablecoins as potential customers.
The executive indicated that another group of target investors are crypto-native traders who are using offshore perpetual futures platforms. Kalshi believes the deal will appeal to people who prefer trading platforms based on the blockchain.
The development comes from Kalshi’s expansion into cryptocurrency perpetual futures, which it has done since earlier this year. In September, Kalshi launched more crypto perpetual futures, such as the BNB, ADA, and AAVE versions.
Kalshi Expands Regulated Futures Trading Services
Kalshi’s perpetual futures unit is run under a trading system regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In June, the exchange launched BTC perpetual futures trading, and it has since expanded into metals and other financial contracts.
Perpetual futures are futures contracts with no expiration date, which means that traders can hold positions while satisfying the margin requirements.
Separately, Kalshi Klear requested CFTC approval in September to introduce margin trading for selected prediction-market contracts. The company has applied for regulatory approval of perpetuals based on oil and U.S. equity products.
