Polymarket seeks $400M funding at $15B valuation as prediction markets surge

Polymarket is in discussions to raise $400M, which could value the prediction markets platform at about $15B, The Information reports. The round follows competitor Kalshi’s $1B funding that valued it around $22B. If additional strategic investors join, total capital raised could reach roughly $1B. Polymarket expansion is already underway: it recently announced a $600M investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent of the NYSE, as part of plans to allocate up to $2B toward event-based trading. Demand for prediction markets is climbing quickly. Brokerage Bernstein estimates prediction market volumes could reach $1T annually by 2030. So far this year, Kalshi and Polymarket have logged about $60B in trading volume versus $51B for all of 2025. Bernstein expects volumes to rise to $240B in 2026 (+370% YoY) and project ~80% CAGR through the decade. Growth is attributed to rising participation and expanding contract categories, including sports, crypto-asset themes, and macro events. Despite the momentum, regulatory and integrity risks are increasing. Lookonchain reported a newly created wallet group earning about $663K on Polymarket by betting on a US–Iran ceasefire shortly before it happened. Israeli authorities also charged individuals over alleged use of classified military information to place Polymarket bets. Separately, a Buenos Aires court ordered a nationwide block on Polymarket over concerns about unlicensed operations and insufficient identity/payment compliance. For traders, the Polymarket funding headline is a sentiment tailwind, but insider/regulatory headlines can raise short-term headline risk and volatility in adjacent narrative trades.