Kalshi partners with Solana and Base to boost 'onchain innovation' as platform closes gap with Polymarket

With Kalshi enjoying an uptick in trading volume, the prediction market platform has partnered with Solana and Base on the launch of an ecosystem hub.

"We’re backing offchain and onchain innovation, with dedicated grants partnering with Solana and Base," Kalshi posted to X on Wednesday, announcing the launch of its Kalshi Ecosystem support network.

The move comes as the Paradigm-backed Kalshi has experienced an uptick in monthly trading volume. Last month, Kalshi registered $875 million in volume, compared to Polymarket's $1 billion, according to The Block Data Dashboard.

After a big trading season ahead of last November's U.S. elections, Kalshi's trading volumes fell considerably. The platform has yet to complete a full month of over $1 billion in trading volume since last year. Meanwhile, Polymarket has recorded more than $1 billion in monthly volume multiple times, also according to The Block Data Dashboard.

Kalshi and Polymarket poised for growth

The prediction platforms landscape appears ripe for growth given the Trump administration's willingness to facilitate innovation in the digital assets sector. Although their business profiles differ slightly, both Kalshi and Polymarket provide a means for people to wager on events like elections and sporting events using crypto.

Recently, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had given his platform the "green light" to relaunch in the lucrative U.S. market. In 2022, Polymarket settled with the CFTC for allegedly offering illicit binary options contracts. In return, it agreed to wind down its non-compliant markets, and take preventative steps to block U.S. users on an ongoing basis.

In July, Polymarket acquired derivatives exchange QCEX in an effort to pave the way for its return to the U.S.

With Polymarket appearing to have the go ahead to relaunch in the U.S., last week reports suggested Polymarket is considering raising additional capital at a valuation between $9–$10 billion. Kalshi, meanwhile, is said to be "close to raising money at a $5 billion valuation," according to a report last week.

Kalshi, which raised $185 million in June in a funding round led by Paradigm, is hoping to overtake Polymarket; and sports betting could be a path forward. Popular stock and crypto trading app Robinhood said last month its is launching a pro and college football prediction market with the help of Kalshi.

On the heels of Kalshi promoting the new ecosystem hub on Wednesday, one popular X user said they'd partnered with the platform in order to develop content around "competitive events" like the FIFA World Cup, League of Legends World Championship, and NBA and NFL games.

Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Underdog all rolling out, or exploring, their own prediction market platform.