Kalshi is pushing prediction markets further into the crypto space as global demand accelerates. Rising interest in event-based trading has prompted the platform to tokenize event contracts on Solana, giving users more in sensitive markets. Analysts say this shift could position Kalshi to challenge competitors and keep pace with the industry’s rapid growth.
Kalshi has begun allowing users to buy and sell tokenized versions of its event contracts on the Solana blockchain, according to a Monday report from CNBC. Traders can now access on-chain versions of markets tied to U.S. elections, sports results, economic data releases, and other major events.
This expansion lets users maintain privacy while tapping into crypto-native liquidity, rather than relying solely on Kalshi’s standard interface.
As part of this transition, decentralized finance protocols DFlow and Jupiter will act as institutional clients. Basically, they will connect Kalshi’s off-chain orderbook to Solana’s trading infrastructure, offering access to deeper liquidity pools and smoother execution.
Demand across prediction markets has surged, with combined volume reaching nearly $28 billion in October. The sector even hit a weekly volume record of $2.3 billion during the week of October 20, as captured by Crypto.com’s research team.
Crypto observers have pointed to political strain, global uncertainty, and rising interest in event-driven speculation as the main catalysts.
Kalshi’s strategy brings several functional changes that may reshape how traders interact with the platform:
John Wang, who leads Kalshi’s crypto division, told CNBC that access to the broader $3 trillion digital asset market will help the company support rising demand and maintain liquidity as interest in event markets grows.
There’s a lot of power users in crypto. This is about tapping into the billions of dollars of liquidity that crypto has, and then also enabling developers to build third party front ends that utilize Kalshi’s liquidity.
Kalshi, founded in 2018, became the first exchange to offer federally regulated event contracts tied to U.S. congressional races in late 2024. That milestone followed a long legal dispute with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. After a court ruling in Kalshi’s favor, platform activity rose ahead of the U.S. election cycle, prompting the CFTC to drop its appeal in May.
Growth has continued through several major funding rounds. Last fall, the company raised more than $300 million at a $5 billion valuation while expanding to more than 3,500 active markets across 140 countries. Another raise in November brought in $1 billion at an estimated valuation near $11 billion.
However, Kalshi is not alone in this rapid expansion of prediction markets. Polymarket received a $2 billion investment from the Intercontinental Exchange. Platforms such as Robinhood and Coinbase have also been moving deeper into the sector.
