Kalshi Nearly Triples Polymarket's Trading Volume in 2026

Prediction market platform Kalshi has recorded $174.5 billion in trading volume since the start of 2026, 2.7 times higher than rival Polymarket's total over the same period, according to a report by SportClan citing data from analytics platform Paradigm.

Sports markets account for the largest share of Kalshi's volume at $127.2 billion, with parlay-style bets combining multiple sporting events representing the biggest single category at $36.4 billion, or 28.6% of sports volume. Among individual sports, basketball leads at $25.8 billion (20.3%), followed by tennis at $22.4 billion (17.6%), football at $16.4 billion (12.9%), and baseball at $10 billion (7.9%). Bitcoin price predictions form another significant segment of Kalshi's volume at $22.5 billion (12.9%), while political events account for a comparatively small 1.3% share; $19.8 billion in volume remains unclassified by category.

Polymarket's total trading volume over the same period reached $64.9 billion. Among its classified markets, sports accounted for $18.5 billion (28.5%), political events for $8.4 billion (12.9%), and cryptocurrency markets for $8 billion (12.3%), with $24.7 billion in volume left unclassified. The comparison highlights Kalshi's substantially larger scale in 2026, driven heavily by sports and parlay betting activity, while both platforms show cryptocurrency and sports markets as consistent volume drivers despite differing overall category weightings.