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Kalshi Traders Profit from Early Trump Press Secretary Bet

Three small bets predicting Katie Zacharia as Trump's press secretary paid out nearly $9,600 after being placed at very low odds.

Three small bets predicting Katie Zacharia as Trump's press secretary paid out nearly $9,600 after being placed at very low odds. This is an original Token Times brief synthesising 2 outlets (Unchained, The Block), plus live market data, as of Mon, 12 Oct 2026 12:00:01 UTC.

Why it matters

This highlights the potential for prediction markets to forecast political events with remarkable accuracy, even when odds are heavily against an outcome.

Covered by 2 outlets over about 39.2 h — Token Times synthesises them all into one brief
  1. The Block
    Kalshi is investigating bets on Trump’s press secretary pick placed before announcement: WSJ ↗
  2. Unchained
    Kalshi Reviews Three Sub-$100 Bets That Called Trump's Press Secretary Pick Early ↗
Key takeaways
  • Three bets totaling $173 were placed on Katie Zacharia as Trump's press secretary.
  • The bets were made when her odds were under 20%, with some at just 1%.
  • The wagers are expected to pay out approximately $9,600 in total.
  • The trades occurred shortly before official news broke of Zacharia's appointment.
What the reporting agrees on

Both Unchained and The Block report that three bets predicting Katie Zacharia as Trump's press secretary were placed at very low odds before her appointment was announced, with Unchained specifying the bets were made when her odds were around 1% and The Block reporting the total bet amount as $173 and the expected payout as $9,600. The Block does not mention the specific odds breakdown provided by Unchained.

Three traders on Kalshi, a prediction market platform, have successfully predicted Katie Zacharia as Donald Trump's press secretary, placing their bets when the market gave her just a 1% chance of being selected.

According to reports from Unchained and The Block, the three bets were placed for a combined total of approximately $173. These wagers were made in the final moments before news outlets reported Zacharia's appointment, with some bets placed when her odds were as low as 1%.

The bets are expected to pay out nearly $9,600 in total, representing a significant return on investment for the traders. This outcome demonstrates the potential for prediction markets to accurately forecast political events, even when the odds appear heavily against a particular outcome.

Kalshi, a platform that allows users to trade on the outcome of events, has seen growing interest in political prediction markets. The Zacharia bet is one of several high-profile predictions that have garnered attention for the platform.

In the broader market context, the total crypto market cap stands at $2.9 trillion, with Bitcoin showing a modest 24-hour gain of 0.54%. The overall market remains relatively flat, with a current Fear & Greed index of 69, indicating a state of 'Greed.'

The market when this published · October 12, 2026
Total market cap$2.90T
Bitcoin 24h+0.54%
Ethereum 24h+2.11%
BTC dominance57.9%
Fear & Greed69 · Greed

Kalshi Traders Profit from Early Trump Press Secretary Bet — questions & answers

How much were the bets on Zacharia's appointment?

The three bets totaled $173 and are expected to pay out about $9,600.

When were the bets placed?

The bets were placed when Zacharia's odds were under 20%, with some at just 1%.

What is Kalshi?

Kalshi is a prediction market platform where users can trade on the outcome of events.

Which outlets reported this story?

This is an original Token Times brief that synthesises reporting from Unchained, The Block, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.

In this storyDonald Trump Person
Token Times Newsdesk Data-stamped

Token Times's newsdesk writes original briefs by synthesising coverage from across the crypto press — 50+ outlets including CoinDesk, The Block, Decrypt and Cointelegraph — cross-checking the figures they report — and verifying them against on-chain data from DeFiLlama and mempool.space — plus live market context (CoinGecko, Binance). We summarise and link to every source; we never reproduce full articles. Read our editorial standards and how we use AI. Not financial advice.

Market data verified against CoinGecko & Binance · October 12, 2026 ⛓ Timestamped at Bitcoin block #971,084 sha256:1f85d392eecb5e11
Corroborated across 2 outlets, reported over about 39.2 h — this is an original Token Times summary with live market data, not the original article.The Block · Oct 10 18:35 ↗Unchained · Oct 12 09:45 ↗

Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original Token Times brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.