Key Notes
- The fintech platform’s trading volume surged 200X while its user base grew 20X over the past year.
- Kalshi now commands over 60% of global prediction market activity despite previously operating only in the US.
- The company navigated significant regulatory challenges with the CFTC throughout 2024 before expanding internationally.
Kalshi, a fintech platform that facilitates the trading of “event contracts,” recently announced it was expanding its prediction markets to more than 140 countries after successfully raising $300 million in a Series D funding round.
The firm’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, said in a post on X that the Series D was led by Sequoia and a16z, with participation from Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, CapitalG, Spark, Kevin Hart, Kevin Durant, Rich Kleiman, Mantis, and Kevin Yorn.
A New Era for Prediction Markets
According to a press release, Kalshi was valued at $5 billion during its “massively oversubscribed” Series D. This puts its value up approximately $3 billion since its Series C in June.
The firm also says its trading volume has grown 200X in the last year and its user base has ballooned by 20X. “Kalshi now accounts for over 60 percent of global prediction-market activity,” it says, despite previously operating solely in the US.
Kalshi appears to have weathered a stormy regulatory environment after a tumultuous back-and-forth with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) throughout much of 2024.
As Coinspeaker reported in September 2024, the CFTC chair at the time, Rostin Behnam, sought to ban event contracts on sensitive issues such as gaming, terrorism, and assassination. Behnam was particularly concerned over risks related to the CFTC overseeing election-related contracts.
Behnam left the CFTC in January 2025 as the Trump administration settled in. He was replaced by current acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham. In February, Trump nominated former a16z policy head Brian Quintenz for the role of CFTC chair. That nomination was withdrawn in September, however, amid a political dustup involving Tyler Winklevoss.
Josh Sterling, a Milbank lawyer that currently represents Kalshi, has been named as a potential candidate to replace Quintenz. According to a recent report from Semafor, the White House is currently vetting Sterling, who was a senior Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) official prior to joining the law firm at Milbank, for the chair position.
Meanwhile, The Hill reported on Oct. 8 that Michael Selig, chief counsel for the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, has become the frontrunner in the race.
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Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Tristan is a technology journalist and editorial leader with 8 years of experience covering science, deep tech, finance, politics, and business. Before joining Coinspeaker, he wrote for Cointelegraph and TNW.
Tristan Greene on X
Source: https://www.coinspeaker.com/kalshi-raises-300m-expands-prediction-markets-to-140-countries/
