Kalshi ends Donald Trump Jr.’s advisory role over Polymarket conflict

Kalshi and Donald Trump Jr. have ended his advisory contract after 1789 Capital, where he is a partner, increased its investment in rival prediction-market operator Polymarket. Kalshi said the decision was mutual, and that discussions to unwind the arrangement began in August after 1789 Capital led Polymarket’s latest funding round.

The two sides agreed that Mr Trump’s position at Kalshi alongside his connection to a leading Polymarket investor created a conflict of interest, CNBC reported. Kalshi said he had helped market the platform to more customers.

Mr Trump became a paid strategic adviser to Kalshi in January 2025, receiving an equity stake reported by the Financial Times to have been worth about $300,000 at the time. Kalshi was then valued at less than $2 billion, according to Crypto Briefing; it was later valued at $22 billion, while its latest funding talks reportedly targeted about $40 billion.

The competing platforms allow users to trade contracts tied to real-world events and vie for traders, liquidity and public attention. The end of the Kalshi arrangement removed Mr Trump’s exposure to its marketing strategy, growth targets and investment plans, while he remains on Polymarket’s advisory board.

Polymarket announced on Aug. 26, 2025, that 1789 Capital had made a strategic investment and that Mr Trump had joined its advisory board. The company did not disclose the investment’s terms at that point. NPR later reported that 1789 Capital invested $300 million, an amount expected to make it one of Polymarket’s largest equity holders; the funding round valued Polymarket at $21 billion.

The split also comes amid political attention on prediction markets. Bloomberg described Mr Trump’s former Kalshi role as a political headache for the platform as Democrats took control of Congress and promised scrutiny of the Trump family’s business links to prediction markets and cryptocurrency. Senator Elizabeth Warren has vowed to crack down on insider trading on prediction markets.

Prediction markets drew broad attention in 2024, when they diverged sharply from conventional opinion polls in signalling Donald Trump’s election victory. Kalshi subsequently promoted its own polling accuracy while criticising traditional polls and media for missing what it called a decisive result.