The event contracts provider, Kalshi, plans to integrate its U.S.-regulated prediction market platform into every major cryptocurrency exchange and application within 12 months, according to John Wang, the company’s head of crypto.
Wang outlined the expansion strategy during an interview at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, calling the initiative a potential tenfold growth driver for the platform. The 23-year-old executive, who spent eight years as a crypto trader before joining Kalshi in August, said the company wants to build what he called “an ecosystem of new financial primitives and trading front-ends” on top of its existing infrastructure.
“The crypto community is the definition of power users, people who live and breathe new financial markets and frontier technology,” Wang said during an interview with The Block. “We’re welcoming a huge developer base who are excited about building tools for those power users.”
The push comes as Kalshi grabbed 66% of the prediction market share by late September, up from 3.3% the previous year. That growth put it ahead of Polymarket, a crypto-native competitor that previously dominated the space. Most of Kalshi’s recent volume came from NFL-related event contracts in the United States.
Kalshi collaborates not only with cryptocurrency exchanges but also with retail brokers, including FOREX.com and Webull.
Kalshi is officially ~70% of GLOBAL prediction market volume, despite only being live in ONE country.
A year ago today we were 2.4%… pic.twitter.com/uTPEQDJyAq
— John Wang (@j0hnwang) October 3, 2025
Blockchain Push Targets Developer Tools
Kalshi’s onchain strategy centers on pushing event data to blockchains in real-time for outside developers to use. The company announced partnerships with Solana and Base last month, launching grant programs for builders working on both onchain and offchain tools. Wang said more blockchain partnerships are in the works.
The platform wants developers to create data dashboards, AI agents and what Wang called “new venues for informational arbitrage.” He stressed that blockchain features would be optional additions rather than replacements for existing functionality.
“I think in 12 months I would have failed my job if we couldn’t look the crypto community in the eyes and be like, ‘we genuinely made positive impact here, we brought in new audiences into crypto,'” Wang told The Block.
The platform gained significant publicity through its strong partnership with Robinhood, which is heavily investing in the development of both event contracts and stock tokenization. Vlad Tenev, the company’s CEO and co-founder, sees these innovations as the future of retail trading.
Related stories: Robinhood’s Prediction Markets Cross 4 Billion Contracts All-Time, CEO Says
Prediction Markets as Gateway Product
Wang framed prediction markets as a simpler entry point into crypto derivatives, arguing they offer more accessible packaging than traditional options contracts. He noted that crypto options haven’t gained much traction despite frequent discussion in trading circles.
“I think prediction markets are similar to [crypto] options that are packaged in the most accessible form possible,” Wang said. “So I think prediction markets are like the Trojan Horse for [people] to enter crypto.”
The company also plans to expand its crypto-specific event contracts significantly, though Wang didn’t provide specific numbers or timelines.
Wang said Kalshi will keep tweaking its user interface to stand apart from competitors like Polymarket. Different market categories need different information flows and context, he explained, which means the platform’s design will reflect those variations.
Regulatory Win Opened Door
Wang credited Kalshi’s market share gains to three years of regulatory groundwork in the United States. The company sued the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2023 after the agency blocked it from offering political election contracts. A district court ruled for Kalshi, and the CFTC dropped its appeal in May.
“[Kalshi] played the long game and we were able to legalize right before the election, we seized the opportunity and did the best we could,” Wang said. “Prediction markets and event contracts are now being held at the same level as normal derivatives and stocks – this is genuinely like the new world’s newest asset class.”
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour participated in a SEC-CFTC roundtable discussion earlier this week focused on regulatory oversight of prediction markets and other emerging financial products.
However, the company is also dealing with lawsuits and regulatory controversies across several U.S. states. Allegations that the platform operates as a form of gambling have intensified after poker legend Daniel Negreanu was named its public ambassador.
