Businessupdated 42m ago2 min read
Kalshi Ends Donald Trump Jr.’s Advisory Role After 1789 Capital Invests in Polymarket
“The Kalshi spokesperson said that there were no political considerations that factored into the decision.”
“However, the move could also be linked to the Democrats’ clean sweep of Congress in this month’s midterms.”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Trump Jr. ends advisory role with Kalshi. His firm 1789 Capital expanded stake in Polymarket, Kalshi rival.
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Kalshi ends Trump Jr. role
Kalshi ended Donald Trump Jr.’s paid advisory role after 1789 Capital increased its investment in Kalshi’s biggest competitor, Polymarket. Kalshi spokesperson Dani Lever said the parties “mutually agreed to end Don’s advisory role after his firm’s significant investment in a competitor this past summer,” and she added that the company was “grateful for his contributions in helping us market Kalshi to more customers.”
Kalshi had named Trump Jr a “strategic advisor” in January 2025, and the company described the decision as having no political considerations. Kalshi’s announcement followed a period in which Trump Jr. had an interest in Polymarket via his role as a partner at 1789 Capital and as an advisor for Polymarket, while Kalshi continued to operate as a prediction markets startup valued at $22 billion in a funding round referenced by the Financial Times.
Optics, conflict, and denials
Kalshi CEO and founder Tarek Mansour acknowledged that Trump Jr.’s ties to his company were an “optics issue,” while he said the $40 billion prediction market startup had never used that relationship to win favor with federal regulators. Kalshi officials and Trump Jr. spoke about his firm’s investment and his position on Polymarket’s advisory board this fall, and a person familiar with the decision said the sides reached a decision to end the contractual involvement after concluding it was a conflict of interest.
Two sources familiar with the matter raised concerns that having the president’s son as an adviser might open the company up to scrutiny by the US Congress, while the Kalshi spokesperson said the company had not considered or discussed political implications. The Guardian said both companies denied that the financial relationship between Polymarket, Kalshi and the Trumps played any role in how the industry has been regulated under the current administration.
Congressional scrutiny ahead
The Democratic sweep of both houses of US Congress in the midterm elections could bring more scrutiny of companies over links to the White House.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley pressed the White House on Monday over its enforcement of ethics rules around prediction markets, pointing to an incident involving a White House teleprompter operator who was fined for placing bets on the president’s speeches.
Senator Elizabeth Warren had vowed to crack down on insider trading on prediction markets, and Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Greg Casar introduced a bill to ban prediction market bets on military operations and other sensitive government actions.
The Independent framed the exit as coming after Democrats won control of Congress and signaled plans to investigate the Trump family’s financial ties to prediction platforms, while it said both Kalshi and Polymarket denied that those ties influenced favorable regulatory treatment.