Wealthsimple launches Kalshi-powered prediction market app for Canadian investors
Wealthsimple is launching a standalone prediction markets app, Wealthsimple Predict, powered by Kalshi, giving Canadian retail investors access to about 4,000 event contracts this summer. The contracts will cover areas such as financial markets, economic indicators, and climate. CIRO approved Wealthsimple in March to offer these products in Canada, making it the second investment dealer authorized to do so. The contracts will be treated as derivatives and must have settlement periods of at least 30 days. Kalshi is also expanding into crypto perpetual futures, which are now live for trading. That move is drawing legal pushback: CME Group sued the U.S. CFTC over its approvals of crypto perpetual futures offered by Kalshi and Coinbase, arguing the products were misclassified under federal law. Meanwhile, prediction markets remain under pressure in other countries, with Spain, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea taking various enforcement or warning actions. In the U.S., states continue to clash with federal regulators over whether event contracts are derivatives or gambling products.
