Polymarket, a prediction market platform now valued at an estimated $18–20 billion, has acquired DeFi infrastructure startup Brahma. The move marks a strategic shift to build its own underlying technology, aiming to solve liquidity imbalances and improve trading efficiency as it faces stiff competition from regulated rival Kalshi.
The crypto prediction market Polymarket has acquired the DeFi infrastructure company Brahma. This acquisition signifies Polymarket‘s move to develop the full technical infrastructure for its platform, focusing on improving speed and on-chain operations.
The platform’s rapid growth, fueled by activity during the 2024 elections, has revealed core challenges. A primary issue is liquidity imbalance, where popular event contracts attract ample capital while niche markets struggle.
“Larger event contracts, like those in sports or politics, easily bring lots of money into the pool,” an analysis noted. “But smaller wagers focused on niche areas… struggle to amass a sizable amount of liquidity.”
Polymarket aims to use Brahma’s technology to fix this distribution and strengthen its blockchain system. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan stated, “Building reliable infrastructure across blockchain networks and traditional financial rails is hard—there are no shortcuts.”
Brahma, founded in 2021, has processed over $1 billion in transactions. Its team will now focus internally on Polymarket’s growth, halting external operations.
Despite an estimated $18–20 billion valuation, Polymarket’s internal metrics show inconsistencies. While Open Interest has risen steadily, trading volume remains sporadic, indicating low liquidity in many markets.
The platform’s market dominance also proved fleeting. Its share dropped from over 61% to around 32% after the 2024 election hype subsided. Its U.S.-based competitor Kalshi briefly captured about 66% market share, handling nearly $1 billion in weekly volume during that period.
This highlights divergent paths, with Kalshi operating as a fully regulated platform without crypto elements. Polymarket is instead doubling down on crypto, with its CEO hinting at a potential POLY token launch in 2026.
