Kalshi Raises $1B, Valued at $11B, Launches Solana Contracts

Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market platform, has raised $1 billion in a funding round that values the company at $11 billion, while announcing the launch of tokenized event contracts on the Solana blockchain to attract cryptocurrency users and enhance trading efficiency.

The funding round, led by existing investor Paradigm, included participation from Sequoia Capital, CapitalG, the growth equity arm of Alphabet, as well as Neo, Anthos Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. Company officials stated that the capital will support expansion efforts amid rising demand for event-based betting platforms. Kalshi, which allows users to trade contracts on outcomes ranging from political events to economic indicators and weather patterns, has seen significant growth since gaining regulatory approval to offer markets tied to U.S. elections in 2024.

In a parallel development, Kalshi has shifted its event contracts to an onchain model by tokenizing them as digital assets on Solana. This move, announced on Monday, enables users to buy, sell and trade these contracts directly through Solana wallets, bypassing traditional account verification processes. The platform maintains compliance...