You placed an order and it's been sitting pending for longer than expected. On Kalshi, this is almost always a liquidity or spread issue — not a platform problem. Here's how to read it and what to do.
Kalshi is a limit-order exchange. Your order sits in the order book until someone is willing to take the other side at your exact price. If your YES price is 62 cents and the current ask is 65 cents, your order waits until a seller accepts 62. Either move your price closer to the spread or accept the market price.
Less popular contracts have thin order books and wide bid-ask spreads. A market with YES bid at 40 and ask at 65 has low liquidity — very few orders will fill at limit. Either trade the most liquid contracts or use a market order if the spread is acceptable.
As a contract approaches its resolution event, order book activity can freeze. Existing traders are holding positions rather than making new trades. Pending orders near resolution may not fill if there's no activity.
During high-traffic events (election nights, major economic announcements), Kalshi's matching engine can have momentary processing delays. These typically resolve in seconds to a few minutes. Check Kalshi's status page if delays are unusually long.
Some contracts have limited trading windows. If you placed an order during a low-activity period, it may sit unfilled until more traders are active. Check the contract's recent volume to gauge typical activity windows.
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