Kalshi drops Trump Jr. over conflict with Polymarket stake

Kalshi ends Trump Jr. advisory role

Kalshi ended Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory position after his venture capital firm made a large investment in competitor Polymarket. The prediction market said it was grateful for his contributions.

“We have mutually agreed to end Don's advisory role after his firm's significant investment in a competitor this past summer.”

Trump Jr. received Kalshi equity in early 2025

Trump Jr. was handed about three hundred thousand dollars worth of equity in Kalshi after joining as a strategic adviser in early two thousand twenty-five. Kalshi was valued under two billion dollars at the time.

Kalshi's valuation has soared since then

Kalshi reached a twenty-two billion dollar valuation in a funding round last month. The company is reportedly in talks for a new funding round that would value it at sixty-five billion dollars.

Trump Jr. also invested in Polymarket

Trump Jr.has an interest in Polymarket through his role as partner at one thousand seven hundred eighty-nine Capital and as an advisor for Polymarket.

The conflict became impossible to ignore

Kalshi reached out to Trump Jr.in the fall to discuss his firm's increased investment in Polymarket and his role on its advisory board.Both parties understood that advising two competitors was complicating things for both.

“both parties understood that advising two competitors in a growing sector was complicating things for both of us.”

CEO admitted the optics were bad

Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour told MS Now that the relationship presented an optics issue. He claimed it was not political and began as a way to market Kalshi when it was much smaller.

“I think that is a fair question… We are facing sort of an optics issue, I think.”

Trump Jr. joined after the election

Mansour announced Trump Jr.'s appointment as strategic advisor on January thirteen, two thousand twenty-five, over two months after the November two thousand twenty-four presidential election. Trump Jr. indicated he decided to help on Election Day.

“On Election night at Mar-a-Lago, while biased outlets called the race a coin toss, my family and close friends used the prediction market Kalshi to know we won hours ahead of the fake news media.”

Mansour denied regulatory involvement

Mansour said Trump Jr. did not help Kalshi on regulatory matters. His role was always about getting the word out about prediction markets and how they work, Mansour said.

“We never had any policy regulatory involvement. It was always about getting the word out about prediction markets.”

Trump Jr. brought massive reach to Kalshi

Mansour said Kalshi wanted to work with anyone who could help get the message out about prediction markets. Trump Jr. has ten million followers on Twitter and likes going direct, Mansour said.

“Don has 10 million followers on Twitter… he has a huge following, and he likes the idea of going direct, tweeting.”

Senators raised ethics concerns

US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley wrote to the White House in November raising concerns about Trump Jr.'s investments in both Kalshi and Polymarket. They cited an insider trading incident involving a Trump aide.

A Trump aide profited from insider information

Gabriel Perez, a Trump teleprompter operator, made over one hundred thousand dollars betting on what Trump would say in prepared remarks on Kalshi's markets.

States are fighting prediction market expansion

Kalshi has lost numerous cases in which US appeals courts and district courts refused to block state gambling laws. Louisiana issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Kalshi, Polymarket and other operators from continuing unlicensed gambling.

“It's not complicated: if you aren't a licensed gaming operator, you aren't legal.”

The Supreme Court could decide the issue

Kalshi won against New Jersey in the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, but the state is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.