Crypto: Kalshi Founder Provides Update On Iran's Khamenei Market Carveout

The prediction platform said it would reimburse users and resolve markets to the last-traded price before the death of the Iranian leader was confirmed.

Tarek Mansour, the co-founder of prediction market Kalshi, provided an update, following the platform’s decision to void some positions that were opened after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed.

“We don’t list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involve death, we design the rules to prevent people from profiting from death. That is what we did here,” Mansour said in a post on X.

Iranian state media reported the death early Sunday, after an attack launched by Israel and the United States a day earlier.

Kalshi is reimbursing all fees from the “Ali Khamenei out as Supreme Leader” market, and will pay traders with positions open before Khamenei died according to the “last-traded price before his death,” Mansour said.

Additionally, users who opened positions after the death of Khamenei were reimbursed the difference between the higher price paid for entry and the last traded price.

A Kalshi spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the platform’s policy on not allowing “death markets” is clear and long-standing.

The platform reiterated the policy on Saturday, and Mansour said that the death carveout stipulations were clearly stated in the rules for the market. However, the decision sparked backlash from users online, who accused the platform of curtailing user profits.

Related: Kalshi bans US politician over alleged insider trading violation

In February, six traders on rival prediction market Polymarket netted about $1 million betting that the US would initiate a strike on Iran before the end of the month.

Source: CoinTelegraph