Finance News

Story: Kalshi Crosses $100 Billion as Polymarket Fights Over $345 Million Iran Market

By Bruce Buterin

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56 Organizations Push Congress to Clamp Down. The political heat is rising, too. A coalition of 56 organizations has formally called on Congress…

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Wealthsimple Brings Kalshi to Canada. While the U.S. debates, Canada is moving in a different direction.

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Kalshi just hit a massive number. The platform crossed $100 billion in lifetime notional volume, pushed largely by a surge in World Cup trading. Weekly volume came in at $6.

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That kind of growth doesn't come without noise, though. On the same week Kalshi was celebrating a milestone, rival platform Polymarket was knee-deep in a messy dispute that…

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The political heat is rising, too. A coalition of 56 organizations has formally called on Congress to restrict prediction markets, asking lawmakers to fold those restrictions…

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Their core argument is pretty straightforward: prediction markets have quietly built what is, for all practical purposes, a sports betting market dressed up in…

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While the U.S. debates, Canada is moving in a different direction. Wealthsimple — one of Canada's biggest retail investment platforms — plans to launch prediction markets in…

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But not every country is rolling out the welcome mat. Spain, India, and Indonesia have all taken steps to restrict access to platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

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Read also: Bitcoin Climbs Past $63K as Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Reopens U.S.-Iran Talks

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That gap between policy and reality is probably the defining tension in this industry right now. Governments can pass rules. Blocking a website is easy.

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The contrast between Canada's embrace and the resistance from Spain, India, and Indonesia pretty much captures where global prediction market regulation stands. Fragmented.

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For Kalshi, the $100 billion figure is real and it matters. Sports contracts — World Cup markets in particular — drove the spike in weekly volume. The demand is clearly there.

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Read also: Kalshi Eyes IPO at $2 Billion Revenue Mark While Sports Contracts Draw Legal Fire

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Canada's Wealthsimple deal gives Kalshi a regulated foothold in a new market. That's not nothing. It's probably the cleanest piece of news the company got this week.

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The 56-organization coalition's letter to Congress is sitting with lawmakers right now.

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