Prediction markets sprint from crypto niche to mainstream finance

Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi now clear nearly $24b a month as AI bots, Wall Street capital and new CFTC rules drag the sector into mainstream finance.

Prediction markets are moving from the fringes of crypto into the core of global finance, with X account Top 7 Crypto | Analytics & Alpha arguing they have become “one of the hottest sectors in finance in under 12 months” thanks to platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi. In a post that has drawn nearly 50,000 views, the account describes an expanding “Prediction Markets Landscape” that now includes “DeFi natives, regulated exchanges, AI-powered and sports-focused platforms,” and urges followers to “Save the list before your feed buries it,” underscoring how fast new venues are appearing. 

That momentum reflects a sector-wide surge: industry research cited by Hashgraph Ventures notes that prediction market volumes nearly quintupled from early 2025, while a16z has flagged the space as a breakout category after the 2024 U.S. election cycle.

A detailed report from TRM Labs found that prediction market transactions hit 191 million in March, with trading volume reaching about $23.9 billion, a 2,800% jump from the prior year as geopolitical and macroeconomic bets dominated flows. Crypto.news has separately reported that, for the week ending March 9, nominal volume on Polymarket hit $2.49 billion, while CFTC-regulated Kalshi posted $2.85 billion, pushing total sector volume to $14.5 billion and lifting unique users to 2.8 million. Phemex analysis suggests that for full-year 2025, combined volumes on Polymarket and Kalshi approached $40 billion, helping turn both into multibillion‑dollar companies. On both platforms, ultra‑short‑term contracts now drive activity: according to a recent crypto.news story, five‑ to 15‑minute “up‑down” contracts on BTC, ETH and other coins already account for more than half of their crypto trading, with combined daily volume around $70 million.

Top 7 Crypto’s thread, based on a landscape graphic from analytics firm @surgence_io, highlights how broad the category has become, drawing in replies from projects spanning on-chain metrics, AI assistants and sports betting. Hedgehog, a data platform that focuses on gas fees and funding rates, wrote that “the prediction market landscape is expanding fast” and said it is “focused on the layer underneath everything else: on-chain metrics… The costs that power every transaction on every chain.” Other builders chimed in to stress the AI and tooling angle: “We are also AI powered tools for prediction market,” wrote @Bobbxu, pointing to @questflow as a way to automate analysis and execution around event contracts. Sports-focused accounts including Trajan Capital and Overtime.io protested being left off the initial list, with Trajan saying that excluding @BetOpenly, @4CxSweeps and @PlayProphetX was “like listing car makes and skipping BMW, Mercedes and Porsche.”

Behind that noisy expansion sits a clearer split between permissionless and regulated rails. Polymarket, built on crypto infrastructure, has leaned into global access while facing mounting pressure from regulators, including a recent crypto.news story on its ban in Argentina after a gambling probe and an earlier lawsuit against Massachusetts over state-level restrictions. Kalshi, by contrast, stresses its status as a CFTC‑regulated Designated Contract Market, explaining in its Market Integrity Hub that all of its event contracts are subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and “23 Core Principles” that govern futures exchanges. That regulatory positioning has attracted both enforcement attention and institutional interest: a crypto.news report noted that ARK Invest is now using Kalshi data “to track market expectations” and integrate market‑implied probabilities into research and risk management.

The capital entering the space looks increasingly like traditional finance. According to Bloomberg, Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, plans to invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket, valuing the platform at roughly $8 billion and signalling that big exchanges see event contracts as a strategic product line. A separate Bloomberg report on a 2025 fintech funding rebound noted that Polymarket and Kalshi together raised about $3.71 billion in fresh capital that year, helping push global fintech funding to $55.94 billion, up 25% from 2024. A follow‑up piece cited by crypto outlets added that Polymarket is negotiating new funding at a valuation between $12 billion and $15 billion, while Kalshi’s valuation has climbed above $10 billion, underlining how quickly markets now value their flows.

Policymakers are responding. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently issued new guidance and enforcement advisories on prediction markets, reminding platforms that it retains “full authority to police illegal trading practices” on Designated Contract Markets. The White House is currently reviewing a fresh set of CFTC measures that would clarify the status of event-linked derivatives, a step crypto.news says could shape how platforms structure contracts on elections, macro data and geopolitics far beyond the crypto niche. In parallel, a Financial Times feature titled “Prediction markets: the hunt for the new ‘dumb money’” chronicles how retail traders are flocking into markets where odds on politicians, central banks and even pop culture become tradable data points, and notes one user who migrated from regulated Kalshi to offshore Polymarket to chase higher leverage.

Crypto-native firms are now treating this data as a new market primitive. A recent crypto.news story on Coinbase’s “everything exchange” strategy described how the company wants regulated prediction markets to sit alongside spot crypto and tokenized assets, with executives arguing that odds from venues such as Polymarket and Kalshi can compete with polling, sell‑side research and even traditional media feeds. Another crypto.news story on “Prediction market activity jumps 2800%” tied the recent spike to geopolitical contracts, pointing out that broadcasters including CNBC and Dow Jones have begun integrating live odds into their coverage. With Top 7 Crypto promising an updated “Prediction Markets Landscape” to reflect the dozens of teams now vying for attention, the sector’s next phase will likely hinge on whether this flow of dollars, regulatory clarity and media exposure can turn what was once a degen side hobby into a durable piece of financial infrastructure.