Kalshi is offering up to $1 million in grants for as many as 50 research projects examining prediction markets during the 2026 midterm elections.
- Applicants do not need to make any payment or trade to enter the grant program.
- Proposals made via the website must be completed by Nov. 18.
- Grantees will be notified by Nov. 27.
The trading exchange opened free applications for the Kalshi Midterm Election Research Grant Program on Tuesday. No trading, purchase, or an active Kalshi account is required to apply.
Applicants must be U.S. residents 18 years of age to enter and can propose just one idea for the program, Kalshi’s official rules state. The application process is open until Nov. 18. Judges will grade ideas from Nov. 21-26, and selected grantees will be notified around Nov. 27.
We are launching a $1 million grant program for up to 50 research projects on midterm prediction markets. Bring your best ideas. We’ll provide any publicly available Kalshi data you need. To enter, quote tweet this post with your research idea and apply on the website. https://t.co/8BgSJ2KBh6
— Kalshi (@Kalshi) November 10, 2026
Grants will be awarded based on ideas judged by Kalshi’s panel, not by a random draw. The judges will also determine grant amounts based in part on anticipated costs, including data, computing, and personnel.
Prepping a proposal
To have an idea received by Kalshi’s judging panel, applicants must submit their name, email address, organization, research question, and a proposal of up to two pages via the operator’s website. Kalshi said it will provide public data.
Proposals must contain what the potential grantee wants to research, why it matters, what data will be analyzed, the proposed methodology, and in what form the data will be publicly produced.
Applicants can also enter by quote-posting Kalshi's announcement on X with their research idea by Nov. 18. Kalshi will then send them an application to complete by Nov. 20.
The operator listed several areas of interest on its site, including trading activity from that night, market calibration, prices and polling averages, sparse election market activity, and what moved prices. Kalshi also inserted several election night research articles to help spur ideas.
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Birthing an industry
Kalshi, which is federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and available in most U.S. states, offers the most-used prediction market platform in the country.
The operator recorded more than $2.5 billion in trading volume during the 2026 midterm election cycle, including more than $715 million on Election Day, Nov. 3. Multiple markets concerning the election generated over $100 million each. Markets on whether Democrats or Republicans would win the House and Senate were especially popular among traders.
The exchange also produced $1.3 billion in volume during the 2024 presidential election, which put Kalshi on the map. The operator won a court order allowing it to offer election markets ahead of the 2024 presidential election, helping fuel the growth of prediction market sites.
