Polymarket hits $21 billion valuation on $1 billion Trump Jr.-led round

Polymarket is raising $1 billion in a new funding round led by 1789 Capital, the investment firm where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, at a $21 billion post-money valuation, according to Bloomberg.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the $300 million investment from 1789 Capital, citing unnamed sources. The firm previously invested roughly $200 million in the prediction market platform, and Trump Jr. joined Polymarket's advisory board in 2025.

The new valuation represents a 40 percent increase from the $15 billion post-money valuation Polymarket achieved in its April funding round, which brought in D.E. Shaw and venture capital firm G Squared as investors. Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, also completed a $1.6 billion investment in Polymarket this year.

The raise deepens the competitive race with Kalshi, which was valued at $22 billion in May and is reportedly discussing a new round at $40 billion. It also comes as at least 20 states pursue litigation against prediction platforms over sports wagers, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued nine states over their attempts to regulate the industry.

The funding round gives Polymarket additional resources as it competes with Kalshi, develops its U.S. business, and expands the technology and liquidity supporting its global prediction-market platform. The company has been rebuilding its position in the U.S. market after acquiring a federally regulated exchange, giving it a pathway to operate domestically after previously restricting U.S. users.

Polymarket has also increased its focus on market surveillance and integrity. The company recently appointed Shana Bautista, a former FBI investigator, as its global head of investigations and intelligence, and has been using machine learning and blockchain analytics to identify potentially suspicious activity on its platform.

Regulatory uncertainty persists across the prediction-market industry. A coalition of 44 state attorneys general recently signed a letter arguing that the CFTC does not have the authority to regulate sports-related wagers on prediction sites. A federal appeals court ruling favored state governments that have asserted oversight authority over prediction markets, and the dispute could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Trump administration has argued that the sole regulator of the industry should be the CFTC, not state governments. Trump Jr. has described the prediction industry as already having "robust oversight" and characterized prediction sites as a tool "overseen by federal officials, not state attorneys general," according to the New York Times.

At $21 billion, the latest valuation places Polymarket among the world's most highly valued private fintech and crypto-related companies, showing how quickly prediction markets have moved from a niche trading category into a heavily funded financial technology sector.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.