Kalshi completes $300m funding round to expand global reach

• The Series D funding round values the CFTC-regulated prediction market platform at $5 billion, more than doubling its June valuation
• Kalshi launches international operations across 140+ countries while achieving record trading volumes exceeding $1 billion monthly
• The company now controls over 60% of global prediction market activity, up from just 2% a year earlier

CFTC-regulated prediction market Kalshi has completed a Series D funding round exceeding $300 million, valuing the company at $5 billion. The funding round, finalised in August, was co-led by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Paradigm, CapitalG, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, and Spark Capital.​

Global expansion

The funding announcement coincides with Kalshi’s launch of international operations, making its prediction markets accessible to users in more than 140 countries.

“International users can now access the platform via the Kalshi website with an identical product experience to American users,” the company said.

The expansion creates what the company describes as the first unified global prediction market, allowing international users to trade on real-world events under the same structure as American participants.

“Kalshi has emerged as the leading prediction market platform… [and] has the opportunity to capture what may become the largest and most important financial market,” said Alex Immerman, partner at Andreessen Horowitz’s Growth Fund, in a statement for CoinTelegraph.

“Tarek and Luana chose the difficult but more responsible path of becoming the first CFTC-regulated prediction market, and their breadth of markets, liquidity, and infrastructure are built for scale,” he added, highlighting the platform’s opportunity to become “the largest and most important financial market.”

The platform remains restricted in 38 jurisdictions, including the UK, Canada, France, and Australia, but has made its services available in Ireland and New Zealand. This rollout appears to target countries with clearer regulatory frameworks.​

Record trading volumes

Kalshi’s momentum has been reflected in its trading activity, with total platform volume surpassing $1 billion in September and annualised trading volume now exceeding $50 billion. The company reported handling over $1 billion in trades during the single week ended 6 October.​

In September, Kalshi captured the majority share of global prediction market activity, representing over 60% of the global prediction market landscape. This marks a dramatic rise from just 2% market share a year earlier.​

Regulatory advantage drives institutional appeal

Co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara pursued a regulatory-first approach by securing approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This distinction, while initially slowing growth compared to unregulated rivals, has provided long-term credibility and regulatory resilience.​

“We did not anticipate this level of growth,” Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Kalshi told NYTimes.​

The company’s regulatory status as a Designated Contract Market under CFTC oversight positions it for institutional adoption and large-scale liquidity.

The funding round represents a more than 150% increase from Kalshi’s $2 billion valuation achieved just four months earlier in June. The rapid growth trajectory positions prediction markets as an emerging asset class attracting institutional interest, with rival Polymarket also securing up to $2 billion in investment from the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company.​