Kalshi and Polymarket hit record $2.7 billion in weekly crypto volume

Short-term Bitcoin price bets pushed crypto to the second most traded category on both prediction markets, behind only sports

Crypto-related prediction market volume on Kalshi and Polymarket reached a record $2.7 billion in a single week. Bitcoin price bets did most of the work.

That figure makes crypto the second most traded category on both platforms, behind only sports.

The record arrived in mid-October 2026. It reflects weekly notional volume, meaning the total face value of crypto-related event contracts traded across the two platforms.

The engine behind the surge is a new crop of high-frequency products. The standout is Kalshi’s 15-minute up/down contract on Bitcoin.

Kalshi’s Bitcoin contracts alone generated over $2 billion in a single week. That one subset accounts for the bulk of the combined $2.7 billion crypto total.

Polymarket is contributing too, mostly through its own shorter-duration crypto markets. Its US arm reported 15-minute Bitcoin volume of approximately $92 million to $101 million in its first full week of operation.

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The crypto numbers sit inside a broader boom at Kalshi. The regulated US prediction market exchange set multiple weekly records during October.

Its peak came during the week of October 5 to 11, when total contract volume reached $19.03 billion. That figure covers every category on the platform, not just crypto.

Daily activity was similarly elevated. Kalshi’s daily contract volume regularly landed between $3.9 billion and $4.4 billion during the month, with highs around $4.4 billion.

The growth in prediction markets comes as spot trading volumes across crypto decline. Coinbase and other platforms are expanding into prediction markets, looking for engagement that traditional buy-and-sell trading is no longer delivering at the same pace.

The most obvious takeaway is a shift in how people engage with Bitcoin. Record volume in short-duration event contracts points to strong appetite for fast, speculative exposure to price moves, rather than long-term ownership.

A 15-minute contract rewards speed and punishes hesitation. Traders using these products are effectively expressing a view on volatility in tiny increments.

For the platforms, the numbers validate the strategy, at least for now. Kalshi has demonstrated that crypto contracts can drive billions in weekly volume. Polymarket’s US arm has shown it can attract meaningful early activity. Coinbase’s move into the space suggests larger players see enough demand to justify the effort.