Kalshi has already held a similar event.

On February 3, the prediction platform Polymarket announced the opening of "the first free grocery store in New York City" called The Polymarket.

After months of planning, we're excited to announce 'The Polymarket' is coming to New York City.

New York's first free grocery store.

We signed the lease. And we donated $1 million to Food Bank For NYC — an organization that changes how our city responds to hunger. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/BGMCWUMz8n

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) February 3, 2026

"Free groceries. Free markets. Created for the people who move New York forward," the platform's team wrote.

The platform also donated $1 million to Food Bank for NYC to assist those with limited access to food across all five boroughs of the city.

Polymarket noted that they had been preparing for the grocery store for several months. It will open on February 12 at 12:00 PM local time and will run for five days.

Source: X.

The community has responded positively to the platform's initiative. Some expressed interest in donating their own products to the store. The prediction market team indicated that they would explore this possibility in the future.

Some users began joking about Polymarket, sharing AI-generated images of The Polymarket "a few days after opening":

Can't wait to see it look like this pic.twitter.com/sWAB0kWsUu

— FloridaManStan (@FLManStan) February 3, 2026

"Fierce Competition"

Kalshi held a similar event at Westside Market, offering $50 in groceries to the first 1,000 people.

Thousands have already picked up their free Kalshi groceries!

We are being told we've already inspired other companies to keep up the initiative!

2 more hours to get yours

Westside Market | 84 3rd Ave. NYC pic.twitter.com/8R11OGODLu

— Kalshi (@Kalshi) February 3, 2026

Social media reports indicated that the line stretched for several blocks, with 1,795 people registered for the event.

Community members criticized the platform, accusing it of stealing the idea from Polymarket.

Polymarket had been preparing for this since November and donated $1M and you only $50? This is an attempt to steal the idea pic.twitter.com/Seaguwv041

— Atlantis liquidity (@Atlantislq) February 4, 2026

"Polymarket has been preparing for this since November and donated $1 million, while you only offered $50? This seems like an attempt to steal the idea," noted one user.

Another user called Kalshi's initiative "sad," emphasizing that the platform could have simply collaborated with Polymarket instead.

New Players

On February 2, Coinbase launched a prediction platform in partnership with Kalshi.

Put your money where your mind is.

Trade the Big Game on Coinbase. pic.twitter.com/MFKJpCdP5M

— Coinbase Predict (@CoinbasePredict) February 2, 2026

The release of the new product was first announced in mid-December. Following the announcement, the exchange filed lawsuits against the authorities in Michigan, Illinois, and Connecticut. The platform stated that the regulation of prediction markets falls under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, not local gambling regulators.

In response, Coinbase itself faced a lawsuit from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The regulator accused the exchange of organizing unlicensed sports betting.

Meanwhile, Crypto.com has spun off its prediction market business into a separate platform called OG.

Welcome to the new era of social prediction markets with OG. Thrilled to finally unveil what we believe will be the best sports prediction market offering, and the leader of a new way to socially engage with event contracts. Thrilled to see Nick Lundgren taking on the CEO role —…

— Kris | Crypto.com (@kris) February 3, 2026

"Over the past six months, we have seen a 40-fold weekly growth in our prediction sector. This growth justifies our targeted efforts and the establishment of a separate platform," commented the exchange's CEO, Kris Marsalek.

OG operates under Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA) — a CFTC-registered exchange and clearinghouse. Currently, the service is available only to users in the U.S.

Earlier, a prediction platform was announced by the DEX for trading perpetual futures, Hyperliquid.

Additionally, in early February, the Solana-based liquidity aggregator Jupiter integrated Polymarket.