The predictions market operator Kalshi is reportedly piloting an interface designed for “highly engaged traders,” which will let users “manage multiple positions in varying event contracts.”
An unnamed source “familiar with the company’s plans” reportedly showed the software product to CNBC, calling it Kalshi’s answer to the Bloomberg Terminal.
Bloomberg Terminals were first released in 1982 and allowed investment bankers to perform complex bond calculations, including yield and duration.
Terminals have since gone digital, allowing professional investors to monitor and analyze financial market data for equities and derivatives, and trade in real time.
Packages typically retail for upward of $24,000 per year. They also provide users with access to breaking news that may affect markets and research on market-related matters.
Kalshi’s Bloomberg Terminal: What Does it Do?
The source said Kalshi has not disclosed a launch timeline for the product, adding that the package is still in “alpha testing.”
An undisclosed number of Kalshi account holders are already using the product to perform trades, said the source.
Development continues on the product and reportedly began around one month ago.
CNBC said the version of the UI it had seen included the following:
- The ability to monitor popular contracts by 24-hour volumes across various categories
- A function that lets users see all trades as they are placed in real time
- Viewability functions for individual contracts’ order books
- Customizable interfaces that let users see event contracts with similarity to contracts in their own portfolios
- Management options for multiple positions
- “Reduced friction” for trading
The firm also reportedly plans to add trading options for other assets to its product in the near future.
The source said that while the product has been designed for prediction market trading, Kalshi may also look to let users access newer features, such as Bitcoin perpetual futures markets. Kalshi launched Bitcoin perps earlier this week.
The product could also provide users with access to “research and other external information,” said the source, although this is part of the firm’s “long-term plan.”
Who is Kalshi Targeting With Bloomberg Terminal?
In three words: “prediction market sharps.” CNBC’s source, described elsewhere in the article as a “Kalshi source,” said the firm wants the software package to function as a “singular product for its highest engaged retail traders.”
These traders “use custom workflows to enhance their trades and gain an edge,” the source said, adding that they were unaware of whether Kalshi intends to charge users of its new “terminal” a fee at any point.
The term “sharps” refers to professional and semi-professional traders who aim to make long-term profits on prediction market platforms by using analysis to out-think markets.
These traders claim to use statistical and quantitative analysis to identify highly profitable event contracts. They also use deep research tools and advanced math.
Kalshi is keeping details of its “terminal” development process under wraps. But CNBC, which last year became a Kalshi shareholder, noted that in April, the venture capital player and fellow Kalshi investor, Paradigm, is reportedly developing a prediction markets data platform.
One of the firm’s partners is reportedly leading development on the platform. Work reportedly began on the Paradigm product last year.
Sources, also unnamed, said the Paradigm product would “cater to professional traders and market makers.”
