Polymarket Grabs Nearly 55% of Prediction Markets as Iran Bets Test CFTC Crackdown

Monday, 16/03/2026 | 15:27 GMT by Jared Kirui
  • According to Token Terminal, Iran-linked event contracts have driven record trading volumes in the industry.
  • Some traders reportedly made about $1 million betting on a U.S. strike on Iran.
  • Amid the boom, reports emerged of gamblers issuing threats to sway prediction markets bets.
Prediction markets

Polymarket has generated 62.3 billion dollars in notional trading volume over the past three years, giving it a 54.5% share of the 114.4 billion‑dollar prediction markets segment tracked by Token Terminal.

Kalshi ranks second with 52 billion dollars in three‑year notional volume, underscoring how the two venues now dominate on‑chain and regulated event trading.

According to Token Terminal’s market breakdown, prediction markets as a whole have cleared more than 114 billion dollars in notional flow over the same three‑year period, with Polymarket sitting at the top of the category by cumulative volume. Most of this activity on Polymarket has settled on Polygon, which remains the primary chain for its event contracts over the observed timeframe.

Iran-linked event contracts drive record trading volumes as US regulators and lawmakers move to tighten oversight of prediction markets.

CFTC Advances Rules on Event Contracts

US regulators have started to formalize how they treat these products. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued guidance that categorizes event contracts as a financial asset class and launched a rulemaking process to determine how the Commodity Exchange Act applies to prediction markets.

Source: Token Terminal

CFTC chair Michael Selig has argued that the agency holds exclusive jurisdiction over these venues, though a recent Ohio court ruling questioned whether federal law fully preempts state gambling statutes in some cases.

At the same time, lawmakers are targeting war-related contracts. Senator Adam Schiff has introduced the DEATH BETS Act, which would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to bar CFTC -regulated venues from listing markets tied to war, terrorism, assassination and individual deaths.

Read more: Can Your Platform Launch Prediction Markets? A CFTC Compliance Checklist

Prediction markets tied to the escalating US–Iran conflict have pushed trading activity on Polymarket and Kalshi to record levels, even as Washington moves to restrict some of the most controversial contracts. Weekly notional volume on both platforms recently hit new highs, while aggregate prediction market activity has climbed to tens of billions of dollars in notional terms and millions of users.

Schiff Bill Targets War and Assassination Markets

The proposal followed reports that several Polymarket traders earned about 1 million dollars by correctly positioning for a US strike on Iran, and that Israeli authorities arrested two people accused of using confidential information about an Israeli strike to trade on the platform.

Meanwhile, an Israeli war correspondent says he has received death threats from online gamblers who tried to pressure him into changing a Times of Israel report on an Iranian missile impact so they could win a high‑stakes bet on prediction platform Polymarket.

In an account published on Monday, Times of Israel military reporter described a coordinated campaign of emails, social media messages and WhatsApp calls demanding that he amend his description of a March 10 ballistic missile strike near Beit Shemesh from a direct hit to “interceptor debris.”

According to the correspondent, anonymous bettors posing as concerned readers, sources and even a lawyer escalated from polite requests and fabricated email screenshots to explicit threats to “finish” him and his family if he did not correct his reporting, claiming they stood to lose around 900,000 dollars if the market resolved against them.

Polymarket has generated 62.3 billion dollars in notional trading volume over the past three years, giving it a 54.5% share of the 114.4 billion‑dollar prediction markets segment tracked by Token Terminal.

Kalshi ranks second with 52 billion dollars in three‑year notional volume, underscoring how the two venues now dominate on‑chain and regulated event trading.

According to Token Terminal’s market breakdown, prediction markets as a whole have cleared more than 114 billion dollars in notional flow over the same three‑year period, with Polymarket sitting at the top of the category by cumulative volume. Most of this activity on Polymarket has settled on Polygon, which remains the primary chain for its event contracts over the observed timeframe.

Iran-linked event contracts drive record trading volumes as US regulators and lawmakers move to tighten oversight of prediction markets.

CFTC Advances Rules on Event Contracts

US regulators have started to formalize how they treat these products. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued guidance that categorizes event contracts as a financial asset class and launched a rulemaking process to determine how the Commodity Exchange Act applies to prediction markets.

Source: Token Terminal

CFTC chair Michael Selig has argued that the agency holds exclusive jurisdiction over these venues, though a recent Ohio court ruling questioned whether federal law fully preempts state gambling statutes in some cases.

At the same time, lawmakers are targeting war-related contracts. Senator Adam Schiff has introduced the DEATH BETS Act, which would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to bar CFTC -regulated venues from listing markets tied to war, terrorism, assassination and individual deaths.

Read more: Can Your Platform Launch Prediction Markets? A CFTC Compliance Checklist

Prediction markets tied to the escalating US–Iran conflict have pushed trading activity on Polymarket and Kalshi to record levels, even as Washington moves to restrict some of the most controversial contracts. Weekly notional volume on both platforms recently hit new highs, while aggregate prediction market activity has climbed to tens of billions of dollars in notional terms and millions of users.

Schiff Bill Targets War and Assassination Markets

The proposal followed reports that several Polymarket traders earned about 1 million dollars by correctly positioning for a US strike on Iran, and that Israeli authorities arrested two people accused of using confidential information about an Israeli strike to trade on the platform.

Meanwhile, an Israeli war correspondent says he has received death threats from online gamblers who tried to pressure him into changing a Times of Israel report on an Iranian missile impact so they could win a high‑stakes bet on prediction platform Polymarket.

In an account published on Monday, Times of Israel military reporter described a coordinated campaign of emails, social media messages and WhatsApp calls demanding that he amend his description of a March 10 ballistic missile strike near Beit Shemesh from a direct hit to “interceptor debris.”

According to the correspondent, anonymous bettors posing as concerned readers, sources and even a lawyer escalated from polite requests and fabricated email screenshots to explicit threats to “finish” him and his family if he did not correct his reporting, claiming they stood to lose around 900,000 dollars if the market resolved against them.

About the Author: Jared Kirui
Jared Kirui
  • 2683 Articles
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About the Author: Jared Kirui
Jared Kirui is an Editor at Finance Magnates with more than five years of experience in financial journalism. He covers online trading, fintech, payments, and crypto industries with a focus on companies, regulation and compliance, executive moves, trading technology, and market analysis. His work has been featured in other media outlets, including Benzinga, ZyCrypto, The Distributed, and The Daily Hodl. Education: Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance option), University of Nairobi
  • 2683 Articles
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