Both leading prediction markets combined did more volume in October than Polymarket did in its first four years.
October marked the prediction market sector’s best month yet, with leading platforms Kalshi and Polymarket processing a cumulative $7.4 billion in volume, well above their previous record in November 2024, when they processed a total of $4 billion driven by the U.S. Presidential election.
While election markets —primarily the NYC Mayoral Election —are still generating hundreds of millions in volume, other niches, such as sports betting, are boosting volume metrics further. In October, Kalshi processed $4.4 billion, and Polymarket recorded $3 billion in volume, new all-time highs for both venues.
Sports markets on Kalshi in particular have exploded, with the offchain prediction market processing more than $1.1 billion in sports betting volume between Oct. 20 and Oct. 27, compared to just $51 million in its politics category. Meanwhile, Polymarket recorded $357 million in sports betting volume over the same period.
On Oct. 22, legacy sports betting platform DraftKings also announced its acquisition of the Railbird prediction market, which will use Polymarket Clearing as its official clearinghouse.
The surge in volume could be catalyzed by developments in both U.S. tax law and airdrop speculation.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by the Trump administration in July, 2026 will mark the first year in which sports gamblers can only write off 90% of their gambling losses, as opposed to 100% currently. While the tax rules surrounding prediction markets are a little vague, sportsbooks and high-volume gamblers may be preparing for a world where prediction market sports gambling offers significant tax benefits compared to traditional bookies.
There is also increased speculation around future token airdrops from Polymarket and Kalshi. Polymarket, a decentralized onchain prediction market, naturally has room in its ecosystem for a native token, given its current oracle and governance structure via UMA.
Kalshi, on the other hand, is entirely offchain; however, user speculation surrounding a future crypto integration has grown, considering the prediction market’s efforts to attract crypto-native capital.