Prediction markets are built on a simple idea: you can trade on what you think is going to happen. On Aug. 19, 2026, Cantor Fitzgerald said it will help big financial firms do that through Kalshi, the regulated prediction market platform.
Cantor will be one of the first Wall Street firms to give hedge funds and other institutional clients direct access to Kalshi's event contracts. Those contracts work like wagers on whether a specific event will occur. Cantor will arrange block trades - large, privately negotiated deals - on behalf of its clients, a common practice at major brokerages to avoid sudden price swings.
Susquehanna International Group will serve as the market maker, meaning it will supply two-sided pricing and stand ready to buy or sell to ensure enough liquidity for large orders. This setup has long been standard in stocks and bonds, but it is new to prediction markets, which have primarily been used by retail investors until now.
There has not been an easy way for a hedge fund to make a huge trade on one of these contracts without disrupting the price. Cantor's move changes that by offering block trades, which are large transactions arranged privately.
Kalshi has been preparing for this shift. The platform completed its first block trade in April and has since introduced several partnerships aimed at institutional investors. A spokesperson for Kalshi said the company can now let Cantor request new event contracts on its behalf, but any new market would need approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That approval process is essential to ensure the market has enough real buyers and sellers to function properly.
Joe Grubb, Susquehanna's head of business development, argues that the broader growth of prediction markets hinges on institutions being able to move risk. Transferring risk is a core Wall Street function, and giving big players a way to do that on Kalshi could attract more participation.
For everyday investors, the entry of hedge funds and other large institutions into prediction markets could lead to more accurate pricing and new investment products. Cantor's Pascal Bandelier, who serves as co-CEO and oversees global equities, said, "Prediction markets are growing rapidly, but institutional participation hasn't kept pace because investors lacked a regulated venue to execute large trades. Now that liquidity is emerging."
As institutional money flows into Kalshi, event contracts may become more efficient. More liquidity means tighter spreads and less price slippage, making these markets more useful for everyone. The involvement of a major broker and a dedicated market maker also signals that prediction markets are becoming a permanent part of the financial landscape.
Retail investors could benefit from the same infrastructure. If hedge funds use Kalshi to hedge against inflation, interest-rate decisions, or geopolitical events, the prices of those contracts will reflect deeper analysis. That can give everyday traders better information when they make their own decisions.
New products may also emerge. With Cantor facilitating block trades and Susquehanna providing liquidity, other financial firms may follow. That could eventually lead to exchange-traded products or funds tied to prediction-market prices, giving ordinary investors another way to express views on future events.
For now, the key takeaway is that the gap between Wall Street and prediction markets has narrowed. Big investors now have a regulated route into Kalshi, and that could change how event contracts are priced and traded.