Kalshi, the largest prediction market in the U.S., now boasts a $22 billion valuation, as it jumps ahead of its main competitor Polymarket. The investment firm Coatue Management is leading a $1 billion investment round at the new valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson for Kalshi declined to comment on the raise.
Kalshi’s valuation comes as the company trades punches with Polymarket in a heavyweight duel for the top spot in the prediction market industry. Earlier in March, both companies were reportedly eyeing valuations of $20 billion each. On Thursday, Polymarket made news by announcing an exclusive partnership with the MLB just in time for the new baseball season.
The intense rivalry has also resulted in novel promotions such as Kalshi announcing in February that it would be providing free groceries to New Yorkers, leading Polymarket, a week later, to open a pop-up grocery store of its own.
Kalshi is the U.S.’s biggest prediction market in large part thanks to a 2020 Commodity Futures Trading Commission decision to give it approval. The company reached a new level of popularity in January of 2025, when it introduced wagers on sports.
Polymarket, on the other hand, had been banned from operating in the U.S. in 2022 after the CFTC found it was offering event contracts without the agency’s approval. Two years later, the FBI raided CEO Shayne Coplan’s New York City apartment. In 2025, the CFTC gave Polymarket approval and the company announced that it would be making a comeback in the U.S.
The rise of prediction markets has not occurred without its share of controversies. On Tuesday, Arizona filed criminal charges against Kalshi for operating an illegal gambling operation in the state, and the company is facing more than 20 lawsuits about its legal status. There have also been concerns about insider trading on both platforms, most notably when a trader on Polymarket made more than $400,000 on Nicolás Maduro’s ouster.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
