News
Kalshi Hits $22B Valuation as Sports Bets Power Volume
Kalshi confirmed a $1 billion Series F funding round on May 7 at a $22 billion valuation — roughly twice the market cap of DraftKings — as the prediction market platform doubled its valuation in five months on the back of sports trading. Coatue led the round, with Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, Paradigm, Morgan Stanley, and ARK Invest all participating. Kalshi said annualized revenue now exceeds $1.5 billion and that roughly 90% of platform activity is tied to sports outcomes traded as event contracts settling at $1 or $0.
What This Means for Crypto Casino Players
The Kalshi raise matters to crypto sportsbook users because federally regulated prediction markets are now the fastest-growing competitor to traditional sports betting in the United States. Annualized trading volume tripled from $52 billion to $178 billion over the past six months, with institutional trading volume up 800% and around 2 million monthly active traders on the platform. Players who currently bet sports through licensed crypto sportsbooks now have a credible alternative path that operates under federal CFTC jurisdiction rather than state gaming regulators.
The mechanics differ in important ways. Sportsbook lines move on bookmaker risk management, and the house earns a vig on each side. Prediction market contracts settle at $1 or $0 based on the actual outcome, with prices moving on user demand — there is no bookmaker spread to overcome. Players evaluating their options can compare crypto sportsbook bonuses, supported coins, and payout speeds on our best crypto sports betting sites guide for US players.
How Kalshi Doubled in Five Months
Kalshi's valuation jumped from $11 billion at the November 2025 Series E to $22 billion this month, an unusually fast doubling for a private fintech operating in a contested regulatory category. The company plans to use the new capital to expand institutional services for hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, and insurance companies. Polymarket, Kalshi's largest rival, has been restricted in the US since 2022 and is currently seeking CFTC approval to fully reopen to American traders — a gap that has helped Kalshi capture more than 90% of US prediction market activity.
Regulatory headwinds have not gone away. Forty-two state attorneys general told the CFTC last month that platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are “unregulated sportsbooks” offering “unlawful activity.” Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and Ohio have each challenged the platform in court or through cease-and-desist letters. Kalshi has so far won the federal jurisdiction argument, providing the regulatory cover that Coatue's term sheet required to commit at this valuation.
What to Watch
The bipartisan Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act, introduced in March, remains the largest federal threat to Kalshi's growth path. If the bill advances during the Senate Banking Committee's expected May 11 markup window, prediction-market sports contracts could be reclassified as gambling and forced under state-level licensing — a far slower and costlier route than the current CFTC framework. Until then, the funding gives Kalshi runway to keep expanding sports volume through the rest of 2026. Players weighing crypto-friendly betting options across both prediction markets and traditional crypto sportsbooks can review current platforms on our best crypto casino page for US players.