Kalshi ends advisory role for Donald Trump Jr. after his firm invests in rival
Kalshi announced that Donald Trump Jr. will no longer serve as an adviser following his investment firm’s sizable stake in competitor Polymarket.
Kalshi, the United States' leading prediction market, said on Thursday that Donald Trump Jr. will no longer act as an adviser to the company. The firm said it and the former adviser mutually agreed to end the relationship after his investment firm, 1789, made a substantial investment in Polymarket, Kalshi’s main competitor.
Kalshi’s statement noted that 1789 added about $300 million to its Polymarket holdings in August, on top of an earlier $200 million investment, creating a conflict of interest for an adviser to two competing platforms. > "Both parties understood that advising two competitors in a growing sector was complicating things," the company said.
A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. confirmed the decision was mutual. It remains unclear whether the president’s eldest son will retain the shares in Kalshi that were part of his compensation when he joined in January 2025; those shares are estimated to be worth millions.
The move follows broader scrutiny of prediction markets, which have received regulatory approvals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC recently authorized Kalshi to offer certain types of trading on stocks, cryptocurrencies and other assets without ownership, a change that prompted lawsuits from major clearinghouses alleging violations of federal investor-protection laws. The administration has also been involved in disputes with state regulators over whether prediction markets fall under state sports-betting laws, with the CFTC generally supporting Kalshi’s position. Donald Trump Jr. previously said his role was limited to marketing the platform and did not involve direct negotiations with the federal government.