Kalshi and Polymarket Push for Wall Street Liquidity Growth

Kalshi and Polymarket are moving closer to Wall Street as both prediction market operators try to bring in more institutional money and trading volume. Reuters reported that brokers such as Marex and Clear Street are already helping hedge funds access prediction markets, while Bloomberg and The Block said Jump Trading is preparing liquidity deals with both companies in exchange for equity stakes.

The move shows where prediction markets are heading next. Retail trading drove the sector’s rapid growth over the past year, but institutional money is now becoming the bigger target. For Kalshi and Polymarket, deeper liquidity matters because large trading firms will not enter markets where order books remain thin, and price swings are difficult to manage.

Jump Trading could help with that. The company is already one of the largest liquidity providers in crypto and derivatives trading, and its involvement would likely improve trading depth on both prediction platforms. Bloomberg reported that Polymarket was recently valued at $9 billion, while Kalshi reached an estimated $11 billion valuation.

Prediction markets are also getting closer to mainstream finance and sports media. Google Finance and the National Hockey League already have deals with both companies, while exchanges including Gemini and Crypto.com are building competing event-trading products.

For sportsbook operators, this matters because prediction markets are starting to look more like betting products. Political markets, live trading, and short-term event contracts now work in a similar way to exchange betting. If regulators keep treating these products as financial trading instead of gambling, operators could face competition from companies working under different rules and lower compliance requirements in some markets.

TGJ Take

Prediction markets are no longer aimed only at crypto traders. Kalshi and Polymarket are now trying to bring in hedge funds and institutional money, which puts them closer to financial exchanges than traditional betting sites. For sportsbook operators, the issue is not just competition for users. It is the possibility that prediction market firms could offer betting-style products while operating under different rules than gambling companies. Operators involved in exchange betting should watch how US regulators handle this sector during the next year.