Prediction Market Volume Surpasses $150 Billion as Kalshi Records New High

TLDR

• Kalshi and Polymarket’s combined lifetime trading volume surpassed $150 billion in April
• Kalshi achieved a record-breaking $14.81 billion in April trading volume, marking a 13.3% month-over-month increase
• Polymarket’s volume declined 14.8% to $9.01 billion, expanding Kalshi’s lead to $5.8 billion
• Polymarket’s active trader count decreased from 733,000 in March to 643,000 in April
• Sports contracts and parlay-style “Exotics” now account for roughly 85% of Kalshi’s total activity

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(SeaPRwire) –   Prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket reached a combined lifetime trading volume of over $150 billion in April. This milestone was achieved despite the sector experiencing its first monthly drop in total trading activity following seven consecutive months of record growth.

April Trading Data

1. Kalshi’s weekly trading volume hit $3.91B for the week ending April 26—an all-time high (ATH)—representing a 27.8% week-over-week (WoW) increase. The prior week’s volume was $3.06B, while Masters week saw $3.5B.
2. Polymarket’s volume for the same week stood at $1.96B, a 4% WoW rise. Kalshi’s lead over Polymarket expanded to approximately $2B, the widest recent gap.
3. Kalshi’s sports-related volume reached $3.0B/week, making up 76.7% of… pic.twitter.com/Ji6pD7kYZ5

— OKX Ventures (@OKX_Ventures) April 29, 2026

Kalshi was the main driver behind the headline figure, reporting $14.81 billion in notional trading volume for April— a 13.3% jump from its prior record of $13.07 billion set in March.

What made this figure notable was the month’s calendar: April lacked major events like the Super Bowl, March Madness, or NFL playoffs, though it did include the start of NBA and NHL playoffs, The Masters golf tournament, and the beginning of the MLB season.

The Masters tournament alone contributed $545 million in notional volume on Kalshi, nearly identical to the platform’s $545.1 million in volume from the Super Bowl game itself.

Polymarket trended the opposite way: its notional volume decreased by 14.8%, dropping from $10.57 billion in March to $9.01 billion in April. This widened Kalshi’s monthly lead over Polymarket to $5.8 billion—more than twice the $2.5 billion gap observed in March.

Sports and Exotics Fuel Kalshi’s Growth

In the week of April 20, sports contracts accounted for 74.3% of Kalshi’s weekly volume. When paired with Exotics—Kalshi’s parlay-style combination contracts—that percentage rose to roughly 85%.

Exotics are experiencing rapid growth: during the week of April 20, they made up $412.5 million, or approximately 10.6% of Kalshi’s total weekly volume—up from 8.7% the prior week.

Kalshi’s taker volume in April was $5.42 billion, versus Polymarket’s $1.99 billion. Additionally, Kalshi handled more transactions (94.4 million) than Polymarket (87.4 million), reversing a long-standing trend where Polymarket had held the lead in transaction numbers.

Polymarket’s Diverse Category Mix Has Pros and Cons

Polymarket’s category distribution differs from Kalshi’s: in the week of April 20, sports led at 46%, while crypto made up 22% and politics-related markets contributed an additional 27%.

This mix works in Polymarket’s favor when crypto sentiment is positive or a significant political event occurs. However, when both are slow— as they were during parts of April— the platform lacks a sports-dominated foundation to rely on.

Polymarket’s active trader count fell from over 733,000 in March to around 643,000 in April. This decrease implies that part of March’s activity was linked to March Madness, with April’s numbers representing a more standard user base.

Regarding regulation, Polymarket is said to be planning to launch its global marketplace in the U.S. following its acquisition of a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange. Kalshi secured funding in March at a $22 billion valuation, while Polymarket is reportedly aiming to raise capital at a $15 billion valuation.

Nine months prior, the prediction market sector handled roughly $2 billion per month. By April 2026, the combined monthly volume across both platforms had reached around $28 billion.