Kalshi voids and refunds Khamenei death market; settles positions at pre-confirmation price

Kalshi co-founder Tarek Mansour clarified how the prediction platform handled markets tied to reports of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death. Kalshi enforces a longstanding policy against markets that directly profit from death and said it refunded all fees for the “Khamenei no longer Supreme Leader” market. The platform will settle positions held before state-media confirmation at the last traded price prior to the report and pay traders accordingly. Positions opened after the confirmation will be reimbursed the difference between their entry price and that last traded price. Kalshi told Cointelegraph the prohibition on "death markets" is explicit in its market terms. The decision prompted user backlash from traders who said it curtailed potential gains. The coverage also notes broader integrity and regulatory concerns around geopolitical prediction markets, referencing prior Polymarket incidents where profitable bets tied to US strikes on Iran drew chain-analysis scrutiny and insider-trading suspicions. Key terms: Kalshi, prediction markets, settlement, refunds, death markets, insider trading.