[Digital Today reporter Hyunwoo Choo (추현우)] The combined run of record monthly trading volumes at Polymarket and Kalshi stopped in April. Their cumulative trading volume topped $150 billion in the same month, The Block Crypto reported on Thursday.

Prediction-market trading, which had surged since September last year, slowed for the first time in April. The decline was mainly seen on Polymarket’s global platform. By contrast, Polymarket’s U.S. subsidiary, which is being rolled out in stages, saw trading rise, and Kalshi also grew.

Polymarket had about 643,000 active traders in April. That was down from more than 733,000 in March. The seven-month streak of user growth also ended. Over the same period, Polymarket’s trading volume in dollar terms fell, and both Polymarket and Kalshi posted declines in nominal trading volume.

The two companies kept their positions as leading prediction-market operators. Kalshi in particular is rapidly expanding its foothold in sports betting. In the process, pushback is also growing from U.S. state-level regulators and gaming authorities.

Kalshi won a lawsuit against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2024 over offering election-related contracts. That helped it lay the groundwork to expand in the U.S. market. Polymarket was banned over offering unregistered event contracts, then acquired a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange to pursue re-entry into the United States and is now reviewing a plan to bring its entire global marketplace into the United States.

The CFTC’s stance has also shifted since the launch of the new administration. The CFTC issued guidance encouraging prediction-market experiments and withdrew its previous, stricter guidance related to gaming contracts. It also filed lawsuits against several states seeking to block prediction markets, arguing that event contracts are binary derivatives subject to federal regulation.

Kalshi raised funds in March at a valuation of $22 billion. Polymarket received support from Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, and is reported to be pursuing a new fund-raising round at a valuation of $15 billion. The two companies are also taking steps to prevent insider trading on their platforms.