Is Kalshi down? How to check Kalshi’s status, the weekly maintenance window, and what to do in an outage
How to tell whether Kalshi is down or the problem is on your side: the exchange status Kalshi publishes, its weekly maintenance window, where outages are announced, what happened in past outages, and what happens to your orders.
To check whether Kalshi is down, look at the exchange status Kalshi publishes, then at its official channels. Most "Kalshi is down" moments are one of three things: a real outage during a huge sports event, the weekly maintenance window, or a problem with your own account, app version or location.
As of October 2026.
How to check Kalshi's status
- Kalshi's own exchange status. Kalshi's public API reports whether the exchange and trading are active, at api.elections.kalshi.com/trade-api/v2/exchange/status. "trading_active": true means the exchange is open. It now reports several segments separately, such as the main exchange, combos, and crypto and commodities, so one part can pause while the rest trades.
- Kalshi's official channels. Incidents are announced on Kalshi's X account and in the announcements channel of its official Discord (Kalshi Discord).
- Outage trackers and Reddit. Downdetector-style sites and r/Kalshi show whether other users are having the same problem.
- Robinhood. Kalshi markets are also traded through Robinhood; during one 2025 outage, trading through Robinhood and Kalshi's API kept working while the app did not.
The weekly maintenance window
Kalshi's published trading schedule includes a regular weekly pause: every Thursday, 03:00–05:00 UTC. That is 11 p.m.–1 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday night while daylight time is in effect, and 10 p.m.–midnight Eastern in winter. If the app stops taking orders late on a Wednesday, this is the likely reason. Kalshi can also announce extra maintenance windows.
Is it Kalshi, or is it you?
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing loads, others report the same | Kalshi outage | Wait; check official channels |
| Orders rejected late Wednesday night (Eastern) | Weekly maintenance | Wait for the window to end |
| "Not available in your state" | State sports restriction | See is Kalshi legal? |
| Can't trade, account says pending | Identity verification | Finish or contact support |
| App crashes or looks wrong | Old app version | Update the app (Kalshi app) |
| Deposit or withdrawal delayed | Payment processing | See withdrawals |
Past Kalshi outages
- College football Saturday, October 2025: the site and app failed to load for many users at peak traffic; some saw a zero balance and could not trade. Trading through the API and Robinhood was reported to keep working. Kalshi described it as minor glitches with no exchange outage and no funds affected, which some users disputed.
- Late December 2025: users reported being unable to close positions during an outage.
- Super Bowl traffic: co-founder Luana Lopes Lara acknowledged that some deposits were delayed because of demand.
The pattern is clear: problems cluster around the biggest sporting events, when traffic peaks.
What happens to your orders in an outage?
- Your money and positions stay on the exchange. An outage stops you trading; it does not erase positions. A balance briefly showing zero is a display problem, not a loss.
- Resting orders usually stay on the book unless you cancel them or the exchange cancels open orders when trading resumes; check announcements.
- Markets still settle by their rules. If a game ends during an outage, the market settles on the official result.
- You can't exit at a price you didn't get. If you could not sell during an outage, there is generally no compensation for the price moving against you, so avoid running large live positions into peak events.
Is Kalshi down: frequently asked questions
How do I check if Kalshi is down?
Check Kalshi's exchange status, then its X account and Discord announcements, then outage trackers.
Does Kalshi have scheduled maintenance?
Yes: a weekly window on Thursdays, 03:00–05:00 UTC (late Wednesday night in the US).
Is my money safe if Kalshi goes down?
An outage stops trading; it does not change your positions or balance. Kalshi holds customer funds under CFTC rules.
Why can't I trade sports on Kalshi?
Usually a state restriction, not an outage.
Is Polymarket down too?
Polymarket has its own status page; see is Polymarket down?.
