Kalshi and Polymarket Combined Trading Volume Exceeds $44 Billion in 2025

Odaily Planet Daily News: Kalshi and Polymarket processed a combined trading volume exceeding $44 billion in 2025. As of April 2026, the monthly trading volume of the two platforms rose to $24 billion, surpassing the average monthly betting volume of legal sports betting platforms in the United States. Kalshi's transaction fee revenue last year was $263.5 million, with annualized revenue subsequently exceeding $1.5 billion. Prediction markets operate under a binary contract exchange model, where platforms match buyers and sellers without placing bets themselves, holding positions, or bearing risks related to event outcomes. The primary revenue source is transaction fees, with additional income from data licensing, institutional trader API access, and market creation fees on certain platforms. In the U.S. market, Kalshi is a Designated Contract Market (DCM) registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Polymarket re-entered the U.S. market at the end of 2025 through a $112 million acquisition of QCEX, a CFTC-regulated entity. However, some states still classify prediction market contracts as gambling, and related federal and state-level lawsuits are ongoing. The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) does not directly define the nature of prediction market contracts, leading to classification differences among member states. If platforms use crypto settlement and offer custody or transfer services to EU users, they must obtain a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license.