World vs Polymarket vs Kalshi: a factual comparison

These three names get grouped together often. They're not the same kind of product.

Kalshi

A U.S.-regulated exchange operating under CFTC oversight. Custodial by design you deposit funds through a regulated financial structure, similar in spirit to a traditional brokerage.

Polymarket

A blockchain-based prediction market, historically built on Polygon, using USDC-settled markets. Non-custodial in the sense that positions are onchain, though the platform's structure and regulatory posture has evolved over time and varies by jurisdiction.

World

Solana-native, self-custodial by design from the start. Trades settle in seconds, positions are standard SPL tokens, and settlement has been associated with Phantom's CASH stablecoin. Reachable both at world.xyz and inside Phantom.

What actually differs

• Custody model: Kalshi custodial, Polymarket and World onchain-based with self-custody as the design goal
• Chain: Polymarket historically Polygon, World is Solana-native
• Regulatory posture: Kalshi operates under explicit U.S. regulatory oversight; World's regulatory framing has not been publicly detailed in the same way

This page will get updated as public information changes on any of the three.