Kalshi and Polymarket Smash All-Time Highs With $9.5B Traded in November
How large Was November’s Surge?
Prediction markets closed November with their strongest month ever, led by fresh all-time highs on both Kalshi and Polymarket. The Block’s data shows that Kalshi reached $5.8 billion in volume for the month, rising 32% from October’s $4.4 billion and marking its largest monthly gain to date.
Polymarket also set a new high. Monthly trading climbed from $3.02 billion in October to $3.74 billion in November, up 23.8% month over month. The run extends several months of record activity dating back to the summer.
The acceleration reflects a steady buildup of retail flow, better liquidity routing, and constant macro headlines — from U.S. election . Prediction markets let users purchase contracts tied to real-world outcomes, with prices moving in real time as sentiment shifts. That mix of event-driven catalysts and clear numerical payouts has drawn a broad base of traders viewking quicker signals than traditional markets provide.
Investor Takeaway
Are Kalshi and Polymarket Forming a Duopoly?
Market share data from The Block indicates that the two firms now dominate sector-wide activity. Their combined share has expanded across spot trading, liquidity funnels and media embeds. November’s volumes extend a trend already underway: the pair is pulling away from smaller competitors as new capital and stronger distribution build network effects.
Kalshi’s rapid rise has been fuelled by a valuation jump that doubled within weeks. The platform secured over $1 billion in new funding last month, pushing its valuation to around $11 billion and drawing investors to its regulated U.S. footprint. Kalshi’s status as a fully compliant has become a central part of its growth story as traders favor listed markets tied to key economic releases and political events.
Polymarket, meanwhile, is rebuilding its U.S. presence following a key CFTC approval in mid-November that cleared the path for renewed operations. Since that decision, the company has expanded distribution through a series of new partnerships — including Yahoo Finance’s exclusive integration of its markets, a multi-year deal with UFC, and broader placement across Google Finance, where Polymarket and Kalshi data now appears directly in search results.
These integrations have given prediction markets more visibility than at any point in their history, feeding liquidity back into the platforms and reinforcing the dominance of the leading two players.
What’s Driving Institutional Interest?
The surge in November was not only a retail-driven story. According to Bloomberg, Galaxy Digital has explored liquidity-provision partnerships with both platforms, signalling deeper institutional involvement. The interest comes as market-makers and funds look for new categories tied to event outcomes, where pricing responds rapidly to data releases, policy decisions or political developments.
Prediction markets have long been pitched as tools for aggregating real-time expectations, but liquidity limitations held the sector back for years. Those constraints are now easing. Both Kalshi and Polymarket have spent the past year building integrations with fintech platforms, financial media, and structured more useful for traders who want tighter pricing, deeper order books and quicker execution.
As these pipes expand, the platforms are no longer functioning as isolated betting sites. They are increasingly being treated as , polling averages and volatility markets. The addition of search-engine embeds and major media integrations has pulled prediction markets into mainstream finance dashboards.
Investor Takeaway
Where Does the Sector Go From Here?
With November setting fresh highs, Kalshi and Polymarket enter December controlling most sector flows and expanding across new distribution channels. Market structure is changing as regulated and onchain platforms converge: Kalshi draws users who want U.S.-approved event markets, while Polymarket captures global crypto-native flow.
The result is a sector that looks very diverse from the fragmented landscape of previous cycles. Prediction markets are now plugged into major financial portals, supported by deeper liquidity, and widely referenced during key macro moments. With election-year catalysts approaching and regulatory clarity improving in the U.S., trading volumes could remain elevated into 2026.
