Kalshi's Legal Battle Reaches the Supreme Court Amid Explosive Growth
The regulatory showdown over prediction markets has escalated to the highest court in the United States. Last week, New Jersey petitioned for a writ of certiorari in its ongoing legal case against Kalshi, according to CoinDesk, officially throwing the jurisdictional battle to the Supreme Court.
This high-stakes legal maneuver arrives as the regulated exchange experiences unprecedented growth. Cointelegraph reports that Kalshi's U.S. web traffic has soared more than 1,500% in less than a year. Trading volume on the platform has grown at an even faster clip, despite intensifying legal scrutiny specifically targeting its sports-related contracts.
Polymarket Traders Flip Rate Hike Odds After Blowout Jobs Report
Over in the decentralized prediction market space, traders reacted with lightning speed to macroeconomic data on Friday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 162,000 August jobs—five times the average of the prior year—triggering a massive shift in interest rate expectations.
Inside of 15 minutes following the data release, Polymarket traders aggressively moved the odds of a quarter-point September Federal Reserve rate increase from 39.5 cents to the majority outcome, The Defiant noted. These odds ultimately pushed to 58%, dragging traditional and crypto markets down with them. The Dow dropped 226 points, while Bitcoin fell $1,430 in just five minutes, knocking the premier cryptocurrency off the $81,000 level.
Polymarket Expands with Crypto Perpetual Futures
In addition to heavy macroeconomic trading, Polymarket is aggressively expanding its product suite. The platform just launched a new Crypto Perpetual Futures (Perps) product featuring up to 20x leverage, Decrypt reported.
The new derivatives offering scaled rapidly, expanding from 10 markets to 67 on its very first day. However, the platform maintains strict geographical fencing; none of the new perpetual futures products are available to U.S. traders, and the 20x leverage ceiling only applies to select markets. For international users looking to capitalize on these highly leveraged contracts, utilizing reliable prediction market tools will be critical for managing risk in an increasingly volatile crypto environment.