Kalshi's $300M Surge Cements Prediction Markets as Mainstream Financial Tools

Kalshi has secured a $300 million Series D funding round, valuing the company at $5 billion and marking a significant milestone in its expansion to over 140 countries. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with additional participation from Paradigm, CapitalG, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, and Spark Capital. This follows a $185 million raise in June 2025, which had valued Kalshi at $2 billion Cointelegraph^[1]. The latest funding elevates Kalshi's valuation by $3 billion since its previous round and underscores growing institutional confidence in the prediction market sector CoinDesk^[2].

The expansion will enable international users to access Kalshi's platform via its website, offering a unified product experience akin to its U.S. offerings. However, the company has not disclosed specific markets for expansion, instead referencing a member agreement that lists 38 restricted jurisdictions. These include Canada, France, Poland, Russia, Singapore, China Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela Cointelegraph^[1]. Kalshi's CFTC-regulated status positions it as the first globally compliant prediction market, differentiating it from unregulated or decentralized platforms Blockworks^[3].

Kalshi projects annualized trading volume of $50 billion in 2025, up from $300 million in 2024, and now holds over 60% of the global prediction market share CoinDesk^[2]. The platform's growth has been fueled by event-based trading, particularly in sports and political markets, with notable partnerships including integrations with Robinhood and Webull to enhance accessibility CoinDesk^[2]. Despite regulatory hurdles-such as U.S. state-level lawsuits alleging circumvention of sports betting laws-Kalshi's compliance with federal CFTC oversight remains a key competitive advantage Blockworks^[3].

The funding round coincides with broader industry momentum. Rival Polymarket recently secured a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, valuing it at $9 billion . This reflects a surge in institutional interest in prediction markets as tools for pricing macroeconomic and political risks. Analysts note that Kalshi's regulated framework and liquidity infrastructure could enable it to scale as a major financial market Cointelegraph^[1].

Kalshi's expansion highlights the sector's evolution from a niche crypto experiment to a mainstream financial tool. With its focus on compliance and global reach, the platform aims to capitalize on the growing demand for real-time data on future events, positioning itself at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain innovation Blockworks^[3].