Prediction market volume hits record amid regulatory scrutiny

Trading volumes for prediction markets reached a record $701.7 million on Monday despite increased regulatory pressure in early 2026.

Prediction market Kalshi dominated activity, accounting for around two-thirds of total volume with $465.9 million in trades.

Competitors Polymarket and Opinion together recorded approximately $100 million worth of trades.

The $701.7 million figure surpassed the previous daily record of $666.6 million set the day before.

Prediction markets have seen rapid adoption as a crypto use case, attracting interest from exchanges and wallets.

Several crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Gemini, are integrating or planning to integrate prediction market features.

Self-custody wallets such as MetaMask have also expanded access to prediction markets.

Record volumes have drawn attention from Wall Street, with platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi achieving multibillion-dollar valuations.

An anonymous Polymarket user’s profitable bet on a political event sparked renewed regulatory concerns about potential insider knowledge.

New York lawmakers are set to review legislation that could ban prediction markets linked to politics, sports and financial assets.

States such as Connecticut, Nevada and New Jersey have tried to restrict prediction market operations, prompting legal pushback.

A federal judge in Tennessee temporarily barred regulators from blocking Kalshi’s contracts after the company sued.

Ukraine has blocked access to Polymarket, classifying the platform as unlicensed gambling under national law.