October political share of both companies 1%... 579.3 billion won in parliamentary contracts across 3 pla

Ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, political contracts accounted for just 1% of total trading volume on Kalshi and Polymarket in October, a sharp drop from roughly two-thirds during the 2024 presidential election. In the final week before the vote, Kalshi's U.S. election contract volume was roughly on par with the same period before the 2024 presidential race, while Polymarket's fell sharply, according to Bloomberg's analysis of trading data from both platforms. Total trading across the two platforms has grown more than 20-fold since October 2024, but election trading has lagged that growth as sports and crypto-related contracts expanded. The shrinking political share reflects that growth in other categories rather than an absolute collapse in election volume, since the percentage is calculated against a much larger total trading base. The combined congressional contracts across the three platforms totaled 579.3 billion won. What to watch next is whether election-related volume rebounds as the midterms approach and whether sports and crypto contracts continue to dominate platform growth.