Kalshi, Polymarket seeking $20 billion valuations in fundraising talks: WSJ
TL;DR
Prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are in early talks for fundraising rounds that could value each at around $20 billion, roughly doubling their valuations from late 2025. Both lead the sector with significant open interest and weekly trading volumes.
Key Takeaways
- •Kalshi and Polymarket are exploring fundraising that could value each at ~$20B, doubling their late-2025 valuations.
- •Kalshi (CFTC-approved, last valued $11B) has over $400M open interest; Polymarket (last valued $9B) has $360M open interest.
- •Weekly trading volumes are substantial: Polymarket at $1.9B and Kalshi at $1.87B, far outpacing competitors like Opinion.
- •Prediction markets allow trading on real-world events and are gaining traction, with traditional players like Nasdaq considering entry.
- •Discussions are early and may not finalize, reflecting the sector's growth amid increasing institutional interest.
What to know:
- Kalshi and Polymarket are exploring fundraising rounds that could value each company at approximately $20 billion, doubling their valuations from late 2025.
- Kalshi, approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was last valued at $11 billion, while Polymarket was valued at $9 billion.
- Both platforms are leading the prediction markets sector, with Kalshi's open interest at over $400 million and Polymarket's at $360 million, alongside notable weekly volume figures.
- Kalshi and Polymarket are exploring fundraising rounds that could value each company at approximately $20 billion, doubling their valuations from late 2025.
- Kalshi, approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was last valued at $11 billion, while Polymarket was valued at $9 billion.
- Both platforms are leading the prediction markets sector, with Kalshi's open interest at over $400 million and Polymarket's at $360 million, alongside notable weekly volume figures.
Prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are discussing potential fundraising rounds that could value each company at about $20 billion.
If completed at that level, the deals would roughly double their valuations from late 2025. The discussions remain early and may not lead to finalized investments, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts tied to real-world events, with categories including sports, politics, elections, and more. Traders buy and sell those contracts based on what they think will happen. Essentially, it allows users to monetize information on world events.
Kalshi already operates in the United States under approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Founded in 2018 by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation in December last year.
The company recently reached an annualized revenue run rate of about $1.5 billion, according to the WSJ report citing people familiar with the business.
Polymarket, founded in 2020 by Shayne Coplan, was valued at $9 billion in October after Intercontinental Exchange agreed to invest up to $2 billion in the platform.
None of the platforms immediately responded to requests for comments from CoinDesk.
Both platforms are leading in the sector, as prediction markets have become the latest hype for traders.
According to a Dune dashboard, open interest on Kalshi is hovering over $400 million, while on Polymarket it’s at $360 million. The third-largest market, Opinion, is at $36 million.
Similarly, the weekly notional volume (total underlying value of all prediction contracts traded) on Polymarket was $1.9 billion last week, and on Kalshi, $1.87 billion, according to Dune data. Opinion saw weekly volume of $150 million, down from over $1.2 billion ahead of its token launch.
The sector has become so popular that companies, including Coinbase and Robinhood, have entered the prediction market. In fact, Wall Street giants Nasdaq and Cboe recently said they are considering rolling out yes-or-no "binary bets" for traders on the direction of traditional markets, similar to prediction-market betting.
Read more: Prediction market firms could be making $10 billion in yearly revenue by 2030, Citizens Bank says
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