Kalshi's Election Markets Hit $133M as Midterm Betting Surges

TL;DR

• Kalshi’s election and political markets are now available on DoubleZero Edge, giving institutional firms easier access to real-time prediction market data. 

• The integration arrives ahead of the November 3 US midterms as election trading volumes surpass levels recorded during the 2024 cycle.

Kalshi’s election and political markets are now available through market data platform DoubleZero Edge, providing institutional firms with greater access to prediction market information ahead of the US midterm elections.

The DoubleZero Foundation announced the integration Wednesday, expanding the platform’s coverage beyond sports event contracts and cryptocurrency perpetual futures.

Institutions Gain Access to Real-Time Political Data

The integration makes Kalshi’s political market data easier for financial institutions to incorporate into their existing workflows.

Kalshi Head of Institutional Andy Ross said election markets provide firms with a real-time, tradable measure of how expectations change as political events develop.

By integrating that data into DoubleZero Edge, institutions can use prediction market activity to price political risk, manage exposure and adjust their positions as sentiment evolves.

The expansion comes ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, which are expected to generate significant activity across election-related contracts.

Prediction markets attracted widespread attention during the 2024 US election cycle. Since then, platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket have experienced rapid growth, achieving valuations in the tens of billions of dollars.

US election-market activity has already exceeded levels recorded during the 2024 cycle. More than $133 million had been traded across certain races as of mid-August, according to Reuters.

DoubleZero said institutions are increasingly using prediction markets as sources of real-time information about political and economic outcomes.

Regulatory Debate Continues

The sector’s growth has also attracted scrutiny from federal and state authorities. Lawmakers, government agencies and state regulators continue to debate how prediction markets should be governed. 

Much of the controversy has focused on whether sports event contracts should be regulated as financial instruments or treated as conventional sports betting.

Despite this uncertainty, the addition of Kalshi’s election contracts to DoubleZero Edge suggests institutional demand for prediction market data continues to increase.