Kalshi Starts 2026 Hot After Record 2025

Kalshi starts 2026 hot after record 2025 year - Cryptopolitan Skip to content Kalshi Kalshi starts 2026 hot after record 2025 year By Hannah Collymore Updated: January 4 2026 8:56 PM UTC 2 mins read 888800 Contents 1. Sports betting fired up Kalshi’s growth 2. Testing the limits in 2026 Share link: In this post: Kalshi opened 2026 with about $291 million in daily notional volume, nearly double its December 2025 levels. The platform processed $23.8 billion in total volume in 2025, marking more than 1,100% year-over-year growth. Sports betting has become a leading growth engine, but it has also caused regulatory pressure and lawsuits from U.S. states. Prediction market platform Kalshi opened 2026 with roughly $291 million in daily notional volume on January 1, doubling the $147 million recorded on December 1, 2025, a sign of continued momentum following a breakout year of twelvefold growth. The strong start follows an explosive 2025 in which Kalshi processed $23.8 billion in total notional volume, representing growth of more than 1,100% year-over-year, according to data published on X . The platform handled 97 million transactions in 2025, which is over 1,680% higher than what it saw in 2024, with peak activity occurring on December 21, 2025, when daily notional volume hit $381.7 million, and transactions reached 1.5 million. December proved to be Kalshi’s strongest month, generating $6.38 billion in notional volume as sports betting dominated platform activity. The final week of December alone came up at around $1.7 billion in volume. Sports betting fired up Kalshi’s growth Sports markets have emerged as a major driver of Kalshi’s expansion. Users traded contracts on outcomes across the NFL, NBA, College Football Playoff, and NHL. This has been a blessing and a curse for Kalshi , as it has positioned it to compete with traditional sportsbooks while operating under a different regulatory framework as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) designated contract market for event-based derivatives. See also Ripple price analysis: XRP peaks at $0.825, slow retracement next? The traditional sportsbooks are agitating that the same rule that applies to them applies to prediction market platforms like Kalshi, and state prosecutors are swooping in. The platform is defending lawsuits in Massachusetts and New York alleging it operates illegal sports betting operations, with authorities in both states claiming that Kalshi’s event contracts constitute sports wagering that falls outside its CFTC authorization. The platform is currently banned in at least four states and faces restrictions in others. Kalshi successfully defended its political betting contracts against CFTC challenges in 2024 and 2025, a victory that opened the door to election markets. Together with rival Polymarket, the two platforms formed what analysts describe as a duopoly, generating more than $44 billion in combined trading volume throughout 2025. Polymarket did over $2.28 billion in t

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