Kalshi 15-Min Gold Markets Overtake Ether in September — SkimNews
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- Kalshi's 15-minute gold markets generated 542 million contracts and an estimated $5 million in fees in September, surpassing Ether's 318 million contracts and $2.6 million in fees just weeks after the August launch.
- Bitcoin remained the dominant 15-minute market on Kalshi with $60.4 million in estimated September fees, far ahead of both gold and Ether.
- Kalshi's commodities business reached $400 million in trading volume within seven months, more than four times the volume its crypto markets had generated at the same stage, the company said in September.
- Short-duration markets — 15-minute crypto, commodity, and financial contracts — generated $20.4 million in fees in the seven days through Oct. 5, accounting for 80% of Kalshi's non-sport fees despite representing only 13% of trading volume.
- The fee advantage for short-duration markets stems from Kalshi's pricing formula, which charges higher fees as a share of volume on contracts priced near 50/50 odds, according to InGame journalist Daniel O'Boyle.
- 15-minute Bitcoin markets launched in December and grew to become Kalshi's biggest non-parlay market series by July, while short-duration Ether contracts grew from 6.1 million to 233 million contracts between January and July 2026.
Why it matters: Kalshi's 15-minute gold contracts now generate nearly twice the fees of equivalent Ether markets, with a traditional safe-haven overtaking a crypto-native product just weeks after launch. Short-duration markets delivered 80% of Kalshi's non-sport fees on just 13% of volume in the week through Oct. 5, making them disproportionately profitable for a platform reportedly in advanced talks to raise at a $40 billion valuation.
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