Kalshi has raised more than $1 billion in a new funding round at a $22 billion valuation. This roughly doubles its previous valuation of around $11 billion from its December 2025 Series E round where it also raised $1 billion, led by Paradigm with participation from Sequoia, a16z, ARK Invest, and others.
The new round is led by Coatue Management.
It’s described as an ongoing or recently closed financing, with the $22B valuation reflecting strong investor enthusiasm for prediction markets. Kalshi’s annualized revenue run rate has reportedly surged to about $1.5 billion up significantly from earlier figures around $600-700M, which helps justify the aggressive valuation multiple roughly 14-15x revenue.
This comes amid booming interest in prediction platforms, though the sector faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny from the CFTC on certain contracts. At $22B, Kalshi’s valuation now exceeds the market caps of some established players in related spaces like sports betting.
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This rapid growth trajectory—multiple massive rounds in quick succession—highlights how prediction markets have exploded in popularity, especially post-2024 election cycles and with broader event-based trading adoption.
Polymarket, the decentralized prediction market platform built on blockchain, has experienced explosive growth since its breakout during the 2024 U.S. election cycle. As of March 20, 2026, it remains a leader in the global prediction markets sector, though it faces intense competition from regulated U.S. rival Kalshi.
Trading Volume Surge: 2023: ~$73 million total. 2024: ~$9 billion (driven heavily by election-related bets, e.g., over $3.3 billion on Trump vs. Harris). 2025: Continued momentum with monthly highs like ~$3 billion in October and cumulative YTD figures exceeding $7-10 billion in later months. The platform pivoted strongly into sports, crypto, and other events. 2026 (early): Record-setting performance, including February’s all-time high monthly volume >$7 billion (7.5x YoY increase) and a single-day peak of $425 million on Feb 28 (surpassing 2024 election day highs).
Recent weekly volumes hit new ATHs around $2.1 billion+. Cumulative notional volume has reached tens of billions, with Polymarket often commanding 50%+ market share in the sector; combined with Kalshi ~79-85% of total prediction market activity. Recent U.S. operations via its 2025 acquisition of CFTC-regulated QCEX have seen >$761 million cumulative notional volume and over 5 million transactions.
Daily active wallets/users surged dramatically.
Over 1.3 million traders reported in late 2025, with ongoing expansion into mainstream via partnerships; MLB as official predictions partner, Dow Jones, DraftKings, NHL, and integrations like Golden Globes coverage.
Shift from crypto/politics focus to broader categories like sports, finance, culture, and AI/tech events. Total raised: ~$2.2-2.3 billion across multiple rounds; investors include Founders Fund, Polychain, General Catalyst, Vitalik Buterin, and a major $2 billion strategic investment from Intercontinental Exchange and NYSE owner in October 2025.
Valuation progression: Early 2025: ~$1.2 billion (unicorn status). October 2025: $9 billion post-ICE deal (Series D/strategic).
Late 2025/early 2026: Secondary/implied valuations climbed to ~$11-11.6 billion.
Mid-March 2026 reports: In early talks for new funding at ~$20 billion potentially doubling from late 2025 levels, amid sector-wide boom where Kalshi and Polymarket both eye similar marks.
This reflects massive investor enthusiasm for prediction markets as an information and forecasting layer, despite regulatory hurdles and competition. Fees have scaled with volume; estimates suggest potential annual revenue in hundreds of millions. Recent fee implementation and growth trends show weekly revenue climbing steadily.
Polymarket’s growth has been fueled by: Mainstream adoption beyond crypto natives.
Event-driven spikes. Regulatory progress (U.S. relaunch and phased rollout post-QCEX acquisition). Prediction markets overall quadrupled volume from 2024 to 2025 ~$64 billion in 2025, with continued momentum into 2026.
However, it’s now neck-and-neck with Kalshi which recently raised $1B+ at $22B valuation. Polymarket leads in global/decentralized volume and crypto integration, while Kalshi dominates regulated U.S. fiat access and certain liquidity metrics. Polymarket has transformed from a niche crypto tool into a major player pricing real-world probabilities, with valuations and volumes suggesting it could become even more central to information markets.