US-based prediction market platform Kalshi to launch cryptocurrency price betting

US-based prediction market platform Kalshi is launching five new event contracts for its customers on Monday that will allow them to bet on various price movements of the bitcoin and ether market, according to its website.

The five new offerings on Kalshi include a market event contract predicting the future value of bitcoin, in which users can bet on five following price targets for this year: $75,000, $80,000, $90,000, 100 $000 and $150,000 or more. Other event contracts include estimating the price of ether every day at 4 p.m.

Although bets are based on cryptocurrency prices, users can place bets in US dollars rather than crypto. Kalshi allows users to bet primarily on “yes or no” topics in a variety of areas, including the likelihood of another Fed rate hike or a hurricane hitting New Orleans in 2024.

Bitcoin price correction

Kalshi’s new prediction markets launch amid cryptocurrency markets that have been growing exponentially since the second half of last year. This rise coincided with the launch of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds in the United States. GMCI 30the index measuring the performance of the 30 crypto tokens representative of the market, increased by approximately 115% compared to the second half of 2023.

Nonetheless, the price of bitcoin has undergone a correction over the past week, falling from an all-time high of over $73,000 to a low of less than $65,000 on Sunday. As Bitcoin’s price decline last week sparked debate over the possibility of a bubble in crypto’s latest bull cycle, Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com. said CNBC believes that the price correction is a “sound decision” that removes some of the leverage built up in the system.

The price of bitcoin has since recovered to trade at around $68,174 as of 3:30 p.m. Hong Kong time.

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