A regulated US exchange and a self-custodial crypto venue: prediction markets from two different worlds.
Updated August 2026
The Liquary case, in three numbers
| What matters | Liquary | Kalshi |
|---|---|---|
| Built on | Hyperliquid L1: HIP-4 markets on a fully on-chain order book | CFTC-regulated US exchange with a central order book |
| Custody | Self-custodial: your keys, whether you sign in by email or connect a wallet | Custodial: funds held in your exchange account |
| Onboarding | Email code: no seed phrase, no KYC | Full identity verification (KYC) before trading |
| Platform fee | 0% until Oct 31, 2026, then a flat 0.05% per fill, buy and sell | Taker fee curve peaking at even odds (~$1.75 per 100 contracts at 50¢; higher on crypto series) |
| Beyond predictions | Perps with leverage and spot trading in the same account | Event contracts only |
| Market catalog | Curated HIP-4 markets: crypto, sports, macro | Thousands of event contracts: politics, economics, weather, sports |
| Collateral | USDC: card, exchange-transfer and bridge deposits guided in-app | USD: bank transfers and debit; crypto deposits convert to USD |
| Access | Available worldwide outside the US | Built for US residents under CFTC oversight |
Kalshi is the regulated way to trade event contracts in the United States, and that position is real: CFTC oversight, USD funding from a bank account, and exchange-grade compliance. Its catalog also covers ground crypto venues rarely touch (economic prints, Fed decisions, weather, and thousands of other series), with the depth that comes from being the US default.
If you are a US resident, the honest answer is simple: Liquary is not available to you, and Kalshi is the venue designed for you.
Liquary lives on the other side of the map: a self-custodial venue on Hyperliquid for traders outside the US. There is no exchange account holding your funds; an email code creates a wallet whose keys stay with you, and no KYC file between you and your first trade.
It is also more than a prediction-market site. Predictions share one USDC balance with perps and spot, so the same conviction can be expressed, hedged or levered without moving money between platforms. Fees follow the crypto-native model rather than the exchange model: 0% until October 31, 2026, then a flat 0.05% per fill, versus a taker curve that peaks exactly where most event contracts trade, around even odds.
And because Hyperliquid prunes resolved markets from its API, Liquary runs its own indexer to preserve the full archive: resolved questions, odds history, volumes and trader win-rates.
Yes, that is exactly the split. Kalshi serves US residents under CFTC regulation; Liquary serves traders outside the US who want self-custody and crypto-native rails. If you are in the US, use Kalshi; if you are not, Kalshi was never built for you and Liquary is.
No. Signing in with an email one-time code creates a self-custodial wallet; there is no identity file, and funds never sit in a company account. Kalshi, as a regulated US exchange, requires full identity verification before trading.
Kalshi charges a taker fee that peaks at even odds: roughly $1.75 per 100 contracts at 50¢, and more on its crypto series. The Liquary fee is 0% until October 31, 2026, and a flat 0.05% per fill after that, the same rate whether you are opening or closing. Hyperliquid's exchange fee applies separately, as venue fees do everywhere.
Liquary trades in USDC. The app guides every route in: card purchases, transfers from an exchange account, or bridging from another chain, all landing on your self-custodial balance.
HIP-4 is Hyperliquid's native prediction-market standard: real-money markets that trade on the chain's on-chain order book, settle in USDC, and resolve on-chain. Liquary is where you trade them; the venue and settlement are Hyperliquid itself.
Live prediction markets on sports, crypto and macro, no account needed to look.
Facts checked August 2026. Kalshi's fee schedule is formula-based and updates regularly; check their published schedule for current rates. Nothing on this page is financial advice.
