Kalshi has raised $1 billion in a Series G funding round that values the New York prediction-market operator at $40 billion after the investment. The company announced the financing on October 29, saying Wellington and Sequoia co-led the round as it seeks to build a broader financial exchange spanning event contracts, crypto, commodities and perpetual futures.

A valuation jump tied to a wider exchange strategy

The new valuation represents a sharp step up from the $22 billion price attached to Kalshi's previous $1 billion round about five months earlier. Reuters calculated the increase at nearly 82%. Kalshi named Baillie Gifford, Stripes, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Layer Global, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Sequoia Global Equities, CapitalG, Hudson River Trading and Balyasny Asset Management among the additional participants. The investment gives the company more capital to compete not only with prediction-market rival Polymarket, but also with established derivatives and exchange groups.

Company figures show growth beyond sports contracts

Kalshi said its annualized trading volume now exceeds $1 trillion and that more than 30 million accounts have been created. Those figures are company-reported run rates rather than audited full-year results. The operator said non-sports annualized revenue has moved above $1 billion, while crypto trading volume has reached a $140 billion annualized pace. It also reported more than $100 million in annualized commodities trading fees and $83 billion in cumulative perpetual-futures volume since that product launched, with more than 500,000 traders using perpetuals.

Why the funding matters for crypto and traditional markets

The round illustrates how prediction-market platforms are trying to become multi-asset exchanges rather than businesses centered on elections and sports. Kalshi's expansion into cryptocurrency perpetuals, equity indexes and metals places it closer to the core territory of traditional futures venues. Perpetual contracts do not expire, so traders can maintain exposure without rolling into a new contract, but leverage can amplify losses and makes risk controls important. Kalshi's ability to attract large institutional investors suggests capital providers see value in its regulated exchange infrastructure and expanding product set, even as the competitive field broadens.

Legal uncertainty remains alongside the growth

The funding does not resolve Kalshi's disputes with U.S. states over whether certain sports-event contracts should be treated as federally regulated derivatives or prohibited gambling. Utah prosecutors filed criminal charges this week against Kalshi and its co-founders, allegations that have not been proved in court. Kalshi disputes the state's authority, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has separately argued that federal commodities law preempts some state restrictions on registered contract markets. The outcome could affect product availability, compliance costs and the geographic reach of sports-related contracts.

What to watch next

The most useful tests will be whether Kalshi converts its stated annualized run rates into durable revenue, expands non-sports liquidity and manages the risks of higher-leverage products. Investors will also watch how quickly the company deploys the new capital and whether court decisions change its operating model. Because the announced metrics mix annualized rates, cumulative volume and account creation, future financial disclosures will be needed to compare growth consistently and judge how much of the activity produces recurring income. For now, the financing establishes a much larger valuation and balance of resources, but the company's exchange ambitions still depend on execution and regulatory outcomes that remain unsettled.

Sources

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