Kalshi Raises $1B at $22B Valuation as Legal Battles Intensify
Kalshi has raised more than $1 billion in a Coatue Management-led funding round that doubles its valuation to $22 billion
Kalshi has doubled its valuation in three months. The prediction market platform raised more than $1 billion in a new funding round led by Coatue Management.
The deal values Kalshi at $22 billion, up from $11 billion in December 2025.
Rapid Valuation Growth
Kalshi’s rise in valuation over the past year has been extraordinary. In June 2025, the company raised $185 million at a $2 billion valuation.
By October, it was raising at $5 billion. A December round pushed the figure to $11 billion. The latest round brings it to $22 billion, making Kalshi worth more than Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel. Flutter’s market capitalization currently sits around $18.6 billion, down sharply from $50 billion in late August as prediction markets expanded into sports.
Coatue Management, led by Philippe Laffont, has previously invested in Anthropic, DoorDash, and Spotify. Earlier backers of Kalshi include Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and ARK Invest.
he Revenue Picture
Kalshi’s annual revenue run rate is reported at approximately $1.5 billion. The company generated roughly $263.5 million in fee revenue throughout 2025. It has already surpassed that figure in 2026.
Fee revenue in March alone could exceed $150 million, depending on the boost provided by NCAA March Madness trading.
Trading volume tells the same story. Monthly volume surpassed $10 billion in February 2026, approximately 12 times higher than levels seen six months earlier. Total trading volume for 2026 so far exceeds $28 billion.
On March 20, the day the funding round was announced, Kalshi processed nearly $600 million in March Madness trading. That was its second-biggest single day on record behind only Super Bowl LX.
The platform’s customer base now includes retail users, institutional market makers, and companies using event contracts to hedge commercial risk.
Raised Amid Maximum Legal Pressure
The timing of the raise is notable. Kalshi closed the round in the same week that Arizona filed 20 criminal charges against the company for operating an illegal gambling business.
The Nevada TRO was issued on the same day. Courts in Maryland, Ohio, and Massachusetts have all ruled against Kalshi on motions for preliminary injunctions. More than 20 lawsuits are active against the company across multiple jurisdictions.
Rival hedge funds Point72 and Balyasny have banned employees from trading on prediction market platforms. The scrutiny has not slowed institutional participation on the platform itself, however. Firms such as Susquehanna and Jump Trading act as market makers on Kalshi. Tradeweb Markets has partnered with the company to provide market data services.
Where the Industry Is Heading
Kalshi’s competitor Polymarket is also targeting a valuation of approximately $20 billion in its own current fundraising. The two platforms have been competing aggressively, including consumer marketing campaigns and competing league partnerships. Polymarket signed a deal with Major League Baseball as Kalshi’s funding was closing.
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya noted that prediction markets now see more than $6 billion in weekly trading volume, up more than 100 times in roughly two years. Some projections suggest annual trading volume across the sector could approach $1 trillion before the end of the decade.
Investors appear to be pricing in continued growth despite the legal uncertainty. One analysis estimated a 55-60% probability that Kalshi’s business faces material regulatory impairment within five years, suggesting the $22 billion valuation reflects a significant bet on the federal regulatory framework ultimately prevailing over state enforcement.
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