The beginning of 2026 marked a historic turning point for the prediction markets industry. In January, these decentralized trading platforms experienced unprecedented momentum, surpassing the symbolic threshold of $12 billion in cumulative trading volumes according to data compiled by NS3.AI. This spectacular growth reflects the increasing interest of users in prediction markets, which allow trading on the outcomes of future events.
Remarkable Progress of Leading Platforms
The four industry giants all reached impressive milestones during the same month. Kalshi, Polymarket, Opinion, and Probable each generated volumes exceeding $1 billion. This consistent performance across multiple major platforms demonstrates that the phenomenon is not isolated to a single platform but rather indicates widespread adoption throughout the prediction markets ecosystem.
Substantial Revenues and Growing On-Chain Activity
Beyond mere trading volumes, the underlying infrastructure also benefits from this expansion. On-chain fees generated during the period reached $11 million, a figure that reflects the intensity of transactions and the density of interactions on the network. This revenue flow supports the ecosystem and encourages developers to innovate further in the prediction markets domain.
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
Prediction markets explode in January with $12 billion in volume
The beginning of 2026 marked a historic turning point for the prediction markets industry. In January, these decentralized trading platforms experienced unprecedented momentum, surpassing the symbolic threshold of $12 billion in cumulative trading volumes according to data compiled by NS3.AI. This spectacular growth reflects the increasing interest of users in prediction markets, which allow trading on the outcomes of future events.
Remarkable Progress of Leading Platforms
The four industry giants all reached impressive milestones during the same month. Kalshi, Polymarket, Opinion, and Probable each generated volumes exceeding $1 billion. This consistent performance across multiple major platforms demonstrates that the phenomenon is not isolated to a single platform but rather indicates widespread adoption throughout the prediction markets ecosystem.
Substantial Revenues and Growing On-Chain Activity
Beyond mere trading volumes, the underlying infrastructure also benefits from this expansion. On-chain fees generated during the period reached $11 million, a figure that reflects the intensity of transactions and the density of interactions on the network. This revenue flow supports the ecosystem and encourages developers to innovate further in the prediction markets domain.