Prediction market trading volume surpassed $25.7 billion in March, with retail investors driving growth and crypto becoming the primary entry point

Odaily reports that data shows the total trading volume of prediction markets in March 2026 reached $25.7 billion, a month-over-month increase of 10.6%. Trading activity was highly concentrated among small-scale retail users. Of the 1.29 million wallets tracked in the first quarter, 82.3% had a trading volume of less than $10,000. Growth was primarily driven by micro, light, and moderately active user groups, with the overall market displaying a structural characteristic of "high-frequency participation, low per-trade value."

Crypto assets serve as the main entry point for prediction markets, accounting for 39.6% of micro-user activity. Specifically, Bitcoin-related event contracts attracted approximately 593,000 users in the first quarter, with a trading volume of $5.42 billion, making it the most popular crypto prediction market. Ethereum and Solana recorded trading volumes of $1.19 billion and $420 million, respectively.

By category, the sports market ranked first with a trading volume of $10.1 billion, followed by the political market ($5 billion), of which geopolitics-related markets accounted for $2.41 billion. The overall trading volume for crypto-related markets reached $7.3 billion.

Analysts suggest that the growth of prediction markets primarily relies on "category expansion" rather than an increase in per-trade size. Micro users were active for an average of 2.5 days and participated in 1.45 categories, while medium users' activity increased to 9.9 days and 2.34 categories, indicating a shift from single-speculation to sustained participation across multiple markets. (The Block)