Jump Trading taking stakes in Kalshi and Polymarket for liquidity

Jump Trading is set to receive small ownership stakes in Kalshi and Polymarket in return for supplying liquidity to their prediction markets, according to Bloomberg reporting cited by Casino.org and republished by GambleRss. The arrangements would connect the proprietary trading firm’s market-making role with equity ownership in both operators.

The terms differ between the platforms. Bloomberg, citing unidentified people familiar with the arrangements, reported that Jump would receive a fixed equity allocation in Kalshi. Its Polymarket stake could increase over time if it meets specified liquidity-capacity objectives. The ownership percentages were not confirmed.

Liquidity and pricing in focus

Professional market makers can support trading in lightly traded event contracts, potentially narrowing spreads and sustaining activity before more participants arrive. Jump competitor Susquehanna International Group has supplied market-making services to prediction-market businesses since 2024, according to Casino.org. Greater participation by outside liquidity providers could also ease concerns about operators’ own trading units taking the other side of retail customers’ positions.

Sports contracts offer a particular test. Casino.org reported that they have been the main source of prediction-market volume growth, but that Kalshi’s NFL contract pricing was consistently less favorable than pricing at DraftKings and FanDuel during the 2025 NFL season. Additional liquidity could help Kalshi and Polymarket compete more effectively, though the reported arrangements do not establish that prices will improve.

Equity stakes amid rising valuations

Casino.org reported that Kalshi reached an $11 billion valuation after a $1 billion November funding round. Around that period, Polymarket’s estimated value was $9 billion to $10 billion, with discussion of a subsequent fundraising potentially valuing Shane Coplan’s company at at least $12 billion. The article illustrated the potential value with hypothetical half percent stakes—explicitly unconfirmed—which would each represent tens of millions of dollars.

Those valuation increases made Coplan the youngest self-made billionaire on record and Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara the youngest self-made female billionaire in history, according to Casino.org. The reported Jump arrangements would give another trading firm an ownership interest in the sector’s expansion.

The broader financial-industry links already include CME Group’s partnerships with event-contract platforms operated by DraftKings and FanDuel, and New York Stock Exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange’s position as Polymarket’s largest investor. Casino.org also reported that Goldman Sachs, the largest investment bank, recently described prediction markets as an attractive segment, potentially signaling interest in applying its market-making and high-speed trading capabilities.

What it means for prediction markets

• Execution is the practical test: More liquidity could narrow spreads and support less-active contracts; improved pricing remains a possibility rather than a confirmed outcome.
• The incentives differ: Jump’s reported Kalshi allocation is fixed, while its Polymarket ownership could grow if liquidity-capacity targets are met.
• Outside participation matters: Third-party market makers could reduce concerns about internal trading desks facing retail users, although Jump’s proposed equity holdings also tie it to the platforms.
• Important terms remain undisclosed: The stake percentages are unconfirmed, limiting conclusions about the value of the arrangements.