Alternative trading venues continued to gather momentum in July, with prediction-market operators Polymarket and Kalshi processing about $1.8 billion in wagers, one of the busiest months on record for the sector. Polymarket led activity, handling $1.065 billion and drawing more than 285,000 active traders. CFTC-regulated rival Kalshi recorded $733 million, helped by a surge in sports-related contracts. The upswing extended to decentralized finance platforms. Hyperliquid, a crypto perpetuals exchange, said it notched its highest monthly turnover to date in July, underscoring the broader pickup in on-chain trading.