Kalshi

Ariel Givner

@GivnerAriel

If I didn’t know better, this reads like Hochul is shaking down a federally regulated exchange to protect New York’s gambling inner ring. Kalshi operates under CFTC oversight. New York still sued it the moment the company refused to hand over a cut of the action. The same state that rakes in billions from its own casinos, lottery, and sportsbooks is now trying to destroy a competitor that won’t feed Albany. This is nothing but monopoly enforcement.

Rosetina Degen 🚢🎒

@rosetina_degen9

✅ Crypto Funding in 2026: Fewer Deals, Bigger Checks, New Winners TL;DR ⤵️ H1 2026 saw nearly as much capital as all of 2024, but with far fewer deals. Money is concentrating into larger rounds, TradFi is more involved, and capital is rotating hard into payments, CEXes, and prediction markets. --- 1️⃣ Big Picture (Tiger Research + @RootDataCrypto) @tiger_research_ analyzed 9,416 crypto deals from 2018 to H1 2026. The key shift in H1 2026: - Total capital: $13.3B (almost equal to full-year 2024’s $13.2B) - Number of deals: only 435 (down 78% from the 2022 peak of 1,978) - Average deal size jumped from $11.7M (2024) to $47.4M - Deals ≥ $100M rose from 1.1% to 7.4% of the total What this means The market has moved from “spray and pray” seed bets to larger, more selective investments focused on revenue, licenses, and control of infrastructure. 2️⃣ Who Is Writing the Checks - Large crypto-native VCs are writing fewer but bigger lead checks and taking board seats. - Exchange-affiliated VCs (CB Ventures, OKX Ventures, YZi Labs, HashKey, Mirana, etc.) are more active thanks to liquidity and distribution advantages. - Mid-size and “spray & pray” funds have largely disappeared (deal activity down as much as 98.9%). - 54.5% of H1 2026 deals involved traditional financial institutions. Seed stage has collapsed (only 81 deals in H1 2026, down 88% from 2022). Series A and later stages now account for 75.2% of capital. 3️⃣ Sector Rotation - Infrastructure: 50.9% (2024) → 14.8% (H1 2026) - Sharp decline - Payments & Stablecoins: → 25.3% - Strong rise (major M&A activity) - CEX: 3.0% → 18.2% - Driven by acquisitions - Prediction Markets: → 17.5% - Breakout sector (@Kalshi, @Polymarket) - Gaming: → Near zero - Deals down 96% - DeFi: Stable but concentrated - @Morpho alone took ~17.7% of DeFi capital 4️⃣Real Revenue Signal: Robinhood Q2 2026 @RobinhoodApp’s segment revenue shows where retail attention is actually going: - Options: $342M - Prediction markets: $156M - Equities: $129M - Crypto: $100M - Other: $49M Prediction markets already generate more revenue for Robinhood than both equities and crypto in a single quarter. --- Bottom Line Crypto capital in 2026 is maturing. Fewer experiments, larger checks, more TradFi involvement, and a clear rotation toward payments, exchange infrastructure, and prediction markets. Older narratives (GameFi, broad seed-stage betting) have largely faded. NFA + DYOR

Hoodlum 🇺🇸

@NotHoodlum

NYS sued prediction market platform Kalshi for $36 billion, calling it an “illegal, unlicensed gambling operation” that includes sports wagering. The state is seeking to halt its operations and force the company to forfeit its profits. https://t.co/PuuLzDOWQa https://t.co/9tKvJ015qN

Matt Kalish

@mattkalish

Bought and Paid for Kalshi equity owner calls lawsuit against Kalshi very bad

kuz

@kylekuzma

Kalshi offered New York a plan that would've brought in $10B over five years for public schools and healthcare. Hochul's response is to ban them to protect the casino lobby. politicians loosing the plot. Makes you wonder what really motivates these politicians 🤔🤔

Crypto Patel

@CryptoPatel

NEW YORK SUES KALSHI: SEEKS $36 BILLION New York State has sued prediction market Kalshi, calling it an "illegal gambling operation." Filed Friday by AG Letitia James & Gov. Hochul in Manhattan court. ✅ NY wants Kalshi blocked from the state ✅ Alleges unlicensed gambling on sports, elections & culture ✅ Accused of allowing users aged 18–20 (below NY's 21 limit) ✅ Seeks 3x profits + $100K per illegal bet offer ✅ Damages: $36B minimum, pending full accounting The $36B is a demand, not a judgment. Kalshi has NOT been found liable. Federal vs State battle. Kalshi says its contracts fall under CFTC jurisdiction. This case could decide the future of prediction markets in the US.

Tarek Mansour

Co-founder & CEO

Lebanese-American entrepreneur who grew up in Dubai and studied math and computer science at MIT (2018). He interned at Goldman Sachs and traded at Citadel before co-founding Kalshi in 2018, and serves as its CEO.

Luana Lopes Lara

Co-founder & COO

Brazilian entrepreneur and former professional ballerina who trained for eight years at a Bolshoi Ballet Academy before studying computer science at MIT (2018). She co-founded Kalshi in 2018 and became one of the world's youngest self-made woman billionaires.

Former VP of Communications at Meta and communications director for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo; now leads Kalshi’s communications function.

Dani Lever

Head of Strategic Communications

Previously at Meta · New York, New York, United States

Joined May 2026

Mahdi Ardestani

Head of Lifecycle

Previously at Chime · San Francisco Bay Area

Joined May 2026

Daihee Cho

CFO, US FCM

Previously at R.J. O'Brien · Greater Chicago Area

Joined May 2026

Fatbardh Veselaj

Head of Technical Accounting

Previously at Uniqus Consultech Inc. · New York City Metropolitan Area

Joined May 2026