Jump Trading is set to gain small stakes in prediction-market platforms Kalshi Inc. and Polymarket in return for providing liquidity, according Bloomberg. The move tightens the Chicago-based firm’s ties to a fast-growing corner of derivatives trading built around event-based contracts.
Venture-Style Liquidity Deals
Jump’s agreement with Kalshi involves a set amount of equity in the company, the people said, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The size of its stake in Polymarket will depend on how much trading capacity Jump ultimately provides to the platform’s US operation.
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The arrangements resemble venture deals, with Jump receiving ownership in exchange for supplying liquidity and trading resources rather than only cash.
Kalshi and Polymarket rely on market makers, including in-house systems, that commit capital and stand on the other side of client trades. These firms help keep markets open and prices tight, particularly during volatile or uncertain periods.
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Kalshi’s latest funding round valued the platform at about 11 billion dollars, while Polymarket’s recent fundraising put its valuation near 9 billion dollars.
Expansion of Event-Contract Trading
The investments align with Jump’s broader push beyond traditional asset classes such as equities into event-based contracts. The firm, founded in 1999 by two former Chicago Mercantile Exchange pit traders, already trades US Treasuries, futures and crypto, using quantitative strategies driven by artificial intelligence models.
Other trading firms have taken similar steps. Susquehanna International Group disclosed in 2024 that it would act as a market maker on Kalshi. Last year, Susquehanna and retail brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc. acquired a majority stake in LedgerX, a US-based derivatives exchange.
That deal gave them direct control over infrastructure to list and clear event contracts, with Susquehanna serving as a “day-one liquidity provider” to ensure customers have a ready counterparty.
Late last year, Jump Trading started making markets on Kalshi, marking one of the first instances of a major proprietary trading firm entering the fast-emerging event-betting sector attracting attention across Wall Street and Silicon Valley. The firm then started providing liquidity on Kalshi’s event contracts.