Key Takeaways:
Kalshi, the CFTC-regulated prediction market, surpassed $2 billion in annualized revenue and has entered early-stage IPO discussions with multiple investment banks.
"The growth reflects the mainstreaming of event-driven trading as a distinct asset class," Luana Lopes Lara, co-founder and chief operating officer at Kalshi, said. Lara became a self-made billionaire at 29 after the company's valuation surged to $22 billion.
The New York-based platform's valuation climbed from $2 billion in June 2025 to $22 billion by May 2026, following a $1 billion Series F round led by Coatue. Weekly trading volume on the exchange has reached $4 billion, while institutional volume jumped 800% in the six months through May, according to the company. The investor roster includes Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Morgan Stanley, ARK Invest and Y Combinator.
An IPO would mark a milestone for the regulated prediction market sector, which has exploded in scale since the CFTC approved Kalshi's US presidential election contracts in 2024 — the first such approval in over a century. The company's revenue run rate now rivals that of established crypto exchanges, showing that regulated event-based trading platforms can compete with traditional digital asset venues for both retail and institutional flow.
Kalshi operates as a traditional, regulated derivatives exchange. It does not use crypto tokens or run on blockchain infrastructure, distinguishing it from crypto-native prediction platforms like Polymarket, which operate in a different regulatory environment. The CFTC-regulated structure has proven attractive to institutional investors: banks, hedge funds and asset managers now account for a growing share of the $4 billion in weekly volume, according to company data.
The prediction market sector has seen explosive growth in 2026. The 2026 World Cup alone drove more than $2 billion in pre-kickoff trading volume across prediction platforms, with a record $818 million traded on opening day, according to BloFin Research. Kalshi's revenue surge reflects the same structural demand for event-based contracts that has propelled the broader category. The 2024 election cycle created a natural demand spike for political event contracts, and Kalshi was the only regulated US platform positioned to capture that demand at scale.
The Information reported the IPO discussions, which remain at an informal stage with no underwriters selected or timeline set. Kalshi declined to comment on the report.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
