Cantor Fitzgerald announced that it will be one of the first investment firms to offer institutional trading on the prediction market platform Kalshi. Pascal Bandelier, co-CEO and global head of equities at Cantor, highlighted that while prediction markets are expanding, institutional involvement has lagged due to a lack of scalable trading options on regulated exchanges.
As a broker, Cantor will facilitate block trades on Kalshi's event contracts, which are large, privately negotiated transactions designed to minimize price volatility. Susquehanna International Group will act as a market maker, providing pricing and liquidity for these trades.
Joe Grubb, head of business development at Susquehanna, emphasized that institutional risk transfer could drive significant growth in prediction markets. Cantor's collaboration with Kalshi began a few months ago, and the firm can request the creation of new markets tailored to client interests, such as climate, weather, and economic indicators.
This partnership reflects Kalshi's strategy to attract Wall Street investors, shifting focus from its initial retail trader base, which primarily engaged with sports-related event contracts. The completion of the first block trade on Kalshi's platform in April and subsequent partnerships indicate a concerted effort to enhance institutional confidence in this novel asset class