Sports betting drives crypto-based prediction markets to all-time highs, with Polymarket and Kalshi seeing billions in trades.
Daily prediction market volume surged to a record $713 million on Saturday, fueled by World Cup betting activity. The spike occurred over a week after the tournament began on June 11, with sports contracts dominating trading platforms.
Polymarket’s World Cup winner contract alone generated $3.1 billion in volume, while Kalshi reported $8.5 billion in sports-related trades over the past 30 days. Polymarket saw $4.9 billion in sports volume during the same period, making it the top category on both platforms.
The growth has drawn regulatory attention, with Kentucky suing five prediction market operators, including Kalshi and Polymarket, for unlicensed sports betting. At least 17 other states have taken similar legal action.