Kalshi's Perpetual Futures Market Accused of Wash Trading
Kalshi's ether perpetual futures market has been accused of wash trading after an analysis found that most sampled volume came from trades clustered around a specific dollar value.
The Defiant analyzed 120,000 consecutive KXETHPERP trades covering roughly 18 and a half hours from September 20 to September 21. About 47.2% fell within a narrow band around one dollar value and accounted for $307.6 million of the $490.3 million in notional volume, or 62.75%.
The pattern appeared throughout the sample, with trades initially clustering just below $5,500 before shifting to about $5,425.55 after 03:00 UTC on September 21. The median interval between clustered trades was 0.365 seconds, with activity holding near 96 trades per minute for more than two hours.
The analysis also found similar patterns in other Kalshi perpetual markets, including a high concentration of ether trades clustering around $5,425.55.
Kalshi's crypto chief has defended the exchange's use of incentives, arguing that such programs are common across trading venues.