Kalshi has ended Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory role after his venture firm, 1789 Capital, bought a stake in rival prediction market Polymarket — a conflict both sides concluded they could no longer carry.

A Kalshi spokesperson said the company and the president's son jointly agreed his position had become untenable, according to CNBC. Talks about his exit began in August, shortly after 1789 Capital announced its Polymarket investment.

"We have mutually agreed to end Don's advisory role after his firm's significant investment in a competitor this past summer. We are grateful for his contributions in helping us market Kalshi to more customers," the spokesperson said, according to Bloomberg.

Trump Jr. had held the strategic advisor post since January 2025. Kalshi paid him in equity for the advice he provided, Bloomberg reports. A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not respond to a request for comment.

Why did the split happen now?

The timing tracks two forces: a direct ownership clash and a political shift in Washington.

Trump Jr. remains an advisor to Polymarket, CNBC reports. Advising one prediction exchange while his firm bankrolls its largest competitor was a line neither party could defend.

The departure also follows Democratic gains in the House and the Senate. Democrats enter their new congressional majority pledging to examine the Trump family's dealings with prediction markets and crypto firms, and the party is expected to take a harder line on the industry. Kalshi shedding its most visible Trump connection removes one target before that scrutiny begins.

What did Trump Jr. actually do for Kalshi?

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in January 2025 that Trump Jr. would advise on strategy, including expansion, Bloomberg reports. The company has said his work covered marketing, not regulatory matters.

That distinction mattered. Early in October, Mansour told MS NOW the tie amounted to an "optics issue" and said Kalshi never used the connection to win over government officials, CNBC reports.

The regulatory backdrop has nonetheless favored the industry. Trump's appointees at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have adopted a friendlier stance toward prediction markets since the president returned to office, Bloomberg reports.

What pressure does Kalshi still face?

Legal and political exposure remains, even without Trump Jr. on the roster.

• Democrats have led most of the pushback against prediction markets, though some Republicans have voiced concern.
• Several states have filed lawsuits against Kalshi and Polymarket, arguing the platforms break state gambling laws.
• Congressional Democrats, holding their new majority, plan to examine Trump family dealings with prediction markets and crypto firms.

What changes for practitioners?

For operators and investors, the move signals how quickly political capital can turn into liability. Kalshi built its advisory bench under a friendly CFTC; one investment by an advisor's firm into a competitor forced a public unwinding within months.

The split also clarifies the competitive map. Trump Jr. keeps his advisory role at Polymarket — the platform now holding both his counsel and his firm's capital — while Kalshi enters the Democratic Congress with a cleaner separation from the Trump family. Expect scrutiny to shift from personalities to the state gambling-law lawsuits that now pose the industry's most concrete legal risk.