Kalshi Raises $1B at $40B Valuation as HTX Settles With FCA

Prediction market platform Kalshi raised $1 billion in a Series G funding round valuing the company at $40 billion, nearly doubling its $22 billion valuation from May. Wellington Management and Sequoia Capital co-led the round, Reuters reported. Kalshi said its non-sports markets generated more than $1 billion in annualized revenue, while DefiLlama recorded approximately $15.8 billion in trading volume over the previous 30 days.

Kalshi is expanding its institutional and commercial reach. The NBA named Kalshi and rival Polymarket as preferred prediction market exchanges, and S&P Dow Jones Indices partnered with Kalshi to develop financial benchmarks for event contracts. Legal pressure is also increasing: Utah filed criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders over alleged illegal gambling, prompting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to move to block Utah’s enforcement effort amid a dispute over federal derivatives authority versus state gambling laws.

Cryptocurrency exchange HTX has agreed to halt unlawful promotions in the United Kingdom following action by the Financial Conduct Authority. Under the settlement, Huobi Global S.A., the Panamanian company behind HTX, will not knowingly run illegal promotions through its website, apps or social media. The court undertakings remain in effect until Oct. 21, 2031; terms are confidential, and the agreement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing.

The developments came as CFTC Chair Michael Selig outlined a speculative future in which AI-powered refrigerators could stake Ether and launch memecoins. The scenario highlighted growing regulatory attention to the intersection of artificial intelligence, programmable digital assets and automated crypto transactions.