Polymarket Cuts Jobs as Its Crypto Exchange Slides Behind Kalshi

The prediction market confirmed layoffs and ended contractor deals in a reorganization, while trading data shows its original blockchain exchange now handles about 4% of the industry's volume.

Francis Gable

12/11/26 · 2 minNovember 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Polymarket has laid off staff and ended contractor agreements in a company-wide reorganization, the prediction market confirmed to Reuters on Nov. 11.

The cuts come as Kalshi pulls far ahead. Kalshi traded $98.2 billion in October, according to DeFi Rate, more than six times the $14.8 billion on Polymarket US. Polymarket's original crypto exchange now handles about 4% of the industry's volume.

Polymarket Won't Say How Many Jobs Went

An internal email posted on X ended contractor agreements effective Nov. 4 "as part of a company-wide reduction in force." Polymarket told Reuters the screenshot was genuine.

The company declined to give a percentage. More than half of those cut were contractors, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Polymarket told Fox Business that reports of a 30% cut were inaccurate.

The company said it had reorganized "for its next phase of growth," which meant new hires, personnel changes "and letting some people go." Chief Executive Shayne Coplan had faced investor pressure to bring more discipline to the business, Bloomberg reported. In September the company named Warren Jenson, a former Amazon finance chief, as its first chief financial officer.

Trading Data Shows Two Exchanges Moving Apart

DeFi Rate tracks the crypto exchange from its own trades. Volume peaked at $11.3 billion in June and fell to $5.3 billion in October. Traders actually paid $2.6 billion; the larger figure counts every contract at its $1 payout, as Kalshi does.

The exchange's share of tracked volume dropped from 44.6% in March to 4.1% in October. On Nov. 11 it was 3.1%.

The U.S. exchange is growing. Polymarket US volume rose 69.8% in October, and at least 58.2% came from combos, parlay-style bundles that swell contract volume beyond the cash traders spend.

Kalshi raised money at a $40 billion valuation in late October. Polymarket still faces a Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation into whether it broke a 2022 promise to keep U.S. users off its overseas platform, Reuters reported in October. The agency has announced no action, and Polymarket has not said how many people it let go.

Treat gambling as entertainment you pay for. 18+, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, help exists at BeGambleAware and GamCare.