Kalshi and Polymarket liquidity 'too thin' for institutional use, Risk.net reports
Risk.net reports that despite combined trade volumes approaching $100 billion since inception, Kalshi and Polymarket still suffer from patchy liquidity that market participants consider insufficient for institutional use. The finding comes as Briefs.co data shows Kalshi pulling well ahead of Polymarket in monthly activity, with Kalshi reaching $17.9 billion in May while Polymarket fell to $7.1 billion — half its April level. Polymarket's U.S. platform did grow to $1.77 billion even as overall volume slid. Global Technology Research separately flagged the platforms' combined monthly volume as having shifted from a footnote to a headline-level development almost overnight in its new 'The Prediction Economy' series.
DRW, Wintermute and IMC are already building prediction-market desks specifically for Kalshi and Polymarket. If their incoming liquidity does not resolve the institutional-execution gap Risk.net identifies, sophisticated traders will route size elsewhere regardless of headline volume records.