Kalshi first, Polymarket fourth in financial category of Apple App Store on Election Day

Two prediction platforms reached top spots on the Apple App Store on Nov. 5, the day of the 2024 presidential election in the U.S.

Kalshi now ranks first in Apple's finance app category and third overall among free apps, according to the app analysis platform SensorTower. Meanwhile, Polymarket is the fourth-highest ranking app in the finance app category.

This represents both apps' highest placement to date, likely driven by interest in betting on election outcomes. Prediction markets give users a way to wager on the likelihood of future events. In theory, bettors are incentivized to present their unbiased view if money is on the line, meaning platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi provide a different view into the election than polls.

Both platforms allow users to place bets in various election-related markets — like the outcome of swing state races or the winner of the presidential contest, but only Kalshi is available to U.S. users. Kalshi's market for whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will win grew to $247 million as of Nov. 5.

Polymarket maintains $3.26 billion in total betting volume for the 2024 U.S. presidential winner, making it the largest market on the application. Since launching in 2020, the Ethereum-based platform has amassed $5.15 billion in cumulative trading volume, The Block's Data Dashboard shows.

A federal court allowed Kalshi to list election betting contracts in early October, after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sought to strictly regulate these "event contracts." Kalshi lets users deposit the stablecoin USDC via the digital asset payment infrastructure firm Zero Hash.