Prediction market operator Kalshi has ended its advisory contract with Donald Trump Jr., according to a company spokesperson cited by Reuters. The split followed 1789 Capital’s increased investment in rival platform Polymarket.
Trump Jr. joined Kalshi as a strategic adviser in January 2025 and received an equity stake reported by the Financial Times to be worth about $300,000 at the time. His role was to help expand Kalshi’s customer base and build partnerships. Talks about ending the arrangement began in August, after 1789 Capital led Polymarket’s latest funding round.
Polymarket is raising $1 billion in the current round at a $21 billion valuation, with 1789 Capital expected to contribute about $300 million. Kalshi described the investment as a major position in a direct competitor and said politics played no part in the split. However, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that some Kalshi insiders had raised concerns about what the midterm election results could mean for the company.
Both Kalshi and Polymarket allow users to trade contracts tied to real-world events, including elections, economic data, sports, and political decisions. The overlap between the platforms made the relationship a potential business conflict.
Regulatory pressure on prediction markets has also increased. Utah filed a civil lawsuit against Kalshi and several of its market makers, alleging they offered illegal gambling to residents, and the state also filed criminal charges against the platform. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced a separate lawsuit. After Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the midterms, some lawmakers sharpened criticism of prediction markets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s defense of sports-related products. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto said the Trump family is heavily invested in prediction market platforms, while Representative Ro Khanna called for a ban on such products.
Kalshi has not said whether Trump Jr. will retain his equity stake.
