Kalshi and BitGo Let Traders Borrow Against Bitcoin to Margin US Perpetual Futures
Kalshi and BitGo announced on October 22 that some Kalshi clients can now pledge Bitcoin, Ether or GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins as collateral for loans that fund margin on Kalshi’s perpetual futures. The trader keeps the coins. The loan pays the margin. That’s the whole pitch, and it’s aimed squarely at money now trading perps offshore.
The structure has three parties. The client borrows. Kalshi Katalyst, a lending affiliate of Kalshi Prime, makes the loan. BitGo Bank & Trust holds the pledged crypto in custody. Kalshi Prime is the company’s US-registered futures commission merchant, so the margin lands with a regulated broker instead of an offshore exchange’s internal ledger. Kalshi says more custodians will follow BitGo.
Who this is for
Kalshi Prime chief executive Jeff Bandman named the target users plainly. One is a long-term holder who doesn’t want to sell Bitcoin and trigger a tax bill. Another is a Latin American business that runs on dollar stablecoins. The biggest group is crypto trading firms and large holders already trading perpetuals on offshore venues. Perpetual futures have no expiry and are where most crypto leverage lives.
Kalshi started listing perps earlier in 2026, on crypto, gold and silver. It has asked regulators to approve perpetual-style contracts on oil and US stocks. In September its clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear, applied to the CFTC to offer margin on certain event contracts. The prediction market that built its name on election bets is turning into a full derivatives venue. We covered the regulatory squeeze on Kalshi and Polymarket in July.
What’s missing
Kalshi hasn’t published loan-to-value ratios, interest rates or liquidation terms. Those decide whether this is a useful tool or a trap. A trader who pledges Bitcoin to margin a leveraged Bitcoin perp is long twice over: if the price drops, the collateral loses value at the same moment the position needs more margin. Leverage on top of leverage is how the 2022 lending desks failed. Here the custody is cleaner and the broker is regulated, but the arithmetic is the same.
The release also doesn’t say whether the CFTC has signed off on the loan program itself. Kalshi says the program is built. No go-live date has been given.
BitGo’s role fits its recent push into prime services, covered here. A custodian whose coins become margin collateral earns fees and gets stickier institutional clients. For Kalshi, onshore collateral is the missing piece in winning back US traders from offshore exchanges.
The plumbing is regulated now. The risk didn’t go anywhere.