Trading

Polymarket volume drops for first time in 8 months as Kalshi hits record

Published May 13, 2026Updated 66d ago

Polymarket's monthly trading volume declined in April for the first time in eight months, breaking a growth streak that dated back to August 2025, according to Bloomberg. The crypto-native platform's founder has acknowledged missteps as the drop coincides with regulated rival Kalshi hitting another record high. The shift widens a gap that had recently been near parity between the two platforms. Yahoo Finance framed the volume slide as a potential inflection point for whether the post-2024 election prediction market boom is cooling, while Cointelegraph cited increasing competition as a contributing factor. Bitcoinfoundation.org reported that Polymarket has ceded the volume lead to Kalshi, and Cdcgaming.com attributed the decline partly to technical issues. No specific dollar figure or percentage decline was disclosed.

Why this matters?

Kalshi's three record-breaking events this month give it concrete leverage in license-expansion talks by proving regulated markets can repeatedly capture liquidity that previously flowed offshore. Polymarket's eight-month growth streak ending removes its main narrative for investors during Kalshi's $1 billion Series F fundraising window.

The bigger picture

Kalshi's record month marks its third milestone in under a week after the UFC 328 and PGA Championship volume records, cementing its reversal from near-parity with Polymarket into a sustained volume lead backed by $1 billion in fresh Series F capital.

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