Kalshi hits $5B valuation days after rival Polymarket gets $2B NYSE backing at $8B

Kalshi, a prediction market that allows people to bet on future events, announced that it raised over $300 million at a $5 billion valuation. The company’s value has increased 2.5x since its last fundraise just three months ago, when it was valued at $2 billion.

The fresh capital came from Kalshi’s existing investor, Sequoia Capital, with new investor Andreessen Horowitz co-leading the round. Paradigm Ventures, CapitalG, and Coinbase Ventures also participated.

Kalshi also revealed that consumers in 140 countries can now make bets on its platform.

The prediction market is seeing a dramatic surge in activity: Kalshi is set to reach $50 billion in annualized trading volume, up significantly from the approximately $300 million volume posted last year, the New York Times reported.

Kalshi’s fundraise announcement follows one made just days earlier by archrival Polymarket, which revealed that it had secured an investment of up to $2 billion from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, at a pre-money valuation of $8 billion. The deal valued Polymarket at $8 billion pre-money, a monumental increase from its $1 billion valuation only two months earlier in August.

Both Kalshi and Polymarket rose to prominence last year, drawing significant attention for their prediction markets on the presidential election outcome.

Polymarket has been barred from serving U.S. residents since 2022, following a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In July, the company acquired a derivatives exchange and a clearing house. The move helped Polymarket receive the right to reenter the U.S. market. Last month, the company’s CEO and founder, Shayne Coplan, said on X: “Polymarket has been given the green light to go live in the USA by the CFTC.”

Kalshi secured the right for Americans to use its platform after successfully suing the CFTC last year.