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Kalshi drops Donald Trump Jr. as adviser after his firm 1789 Capital backed rival Polymarket
⚪NeutralA personnel change at a prediction market company with no direct effect on any coin.News sentiment, not financial advice. It reflects the likely impact of this news, not a price prediction.
Summary
Prediction market Kalshi has ended Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory role after his venture firm 1789 Capital made a significant investment in rival Polymarket, Reuters reported Thursday, according to CoinDesk and Cointelegraph.
A Kalshi spokesperson told Reuters the decision was mutual and that talks began in August, after 1789 Capital led Polymarket's latest funding round.
Trump Jr. joined Kalshi as a strategic adviser in January 2025 and reportedly received an equity stake worth about $300,000 at the time.
Kalshi said politics played no role, but Cointelegraph cites Reuters sources saying some inside the company raised concerns about what Democrats' midterm sweep could mean for it.
Key facts
- "We have mutually agreed to end Don's advisory role after his firm's significant investment in a competitor this past summer," a Kalshi spokesperson told Reuters.
- Cointelegraph reports the Polymarket round was $1 billion at a $21 billion valuation, with 1789 Capital set to contribute about $300 million.
- Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters some within Kalshi had raised concerns about Democrats' midterm sweep of both chambers of Congress.
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto wrote on X that "the Trump family is heavily invested in prediction market platforms," and Rep. Ro Khanna called for a ban on sports-related prediction products, CoinDesk reports.