Polymarket and Kalshi set fresh crypto trading volume records on June 2 as volatility rose. Artemis data showed Polymarket reaching $176 million in volume, while Kalshi hit $108 million.
The jump came during a crypto sell-off that erased over $1.76 billion in leveraged positions and sent Bitcoin below $67,000.
Crypto Sell Off Drives Record Activity
The record activity appeared as traders reacted to one of the harshest liquidation sessions since February. Bitcoin dropped below $67,000, while the crypto market lost about $137 billion in value.
Kalshi moved past $100 million in crypto category volume. Its $108 million total beat its previous record from March 16. Polymarket also posted a new peak with $176 million.
The timing showed how fast capital can move when volatility rises. Traders used prediction markets to position around price swings, liquidation risk, and market direction.
Prediction Markets Were Already Expanding
The June 2 spike followed months of growth across the prediction market sector. Total prediction market volume reached $28.4 billion in May, marking a new monthly record and the fourth straight month of rising activity.
Kalshi led the market in May with $17.3 billion in volume. That represented about 61% of total prediction market activity and nearly twice Polymarket’s $8.4 billion. Kalshi has also gained ground across several categories since February.
In crypto-specific markets, Kalshi held a 60.45% share for the week ending May 17. That marked a sharp shift from the start of the year, when Polymarket controlled 91.11% of crypto category activity.
Kalshi also crossed $4 billion in weekly notional volume in the week ending May 17. That is compared with $54.5 million a year earlier. Polymarket processed about $2 billion in the same week.
Kalshi Adds Perpetual Futures Product
Kalshi added another catalyst on June 3 by launching Bitcoin perpetual futures on its platform. The company described the product on X as the first American perpetual future.
Perpetual futures are common on offshore exchanges such as Binance and Bybit. Kalshi’s launch gives U.S. traders access through a CFTC-regulated venue, alongside its existing event contracts.
Polymarket still holds deeper locked liquidity despite trailing Kalshi in volume share. DefiLlama data showed $535.58 million in total value locked, $488.35 million in open interest, and more than 108,000 active addresses.
Polymarket has reached $36.1 billion in cumulative trading volume across its Polygon-based and off-chain order books. Its revenue rose to $20.94 million over 30 days, backed by $3.89 billion in volume.
Competition is widening. Hyperliquid launched HIP 4 outcome contracts on May 2, allowing developers to build prediction markets on its exchange. The prediction market category now holds $595.91 million in total value locked.
