Robinhood Discusses Prediction-Market Partnership With Crypto.com

Robinhood is in talks with Crypto.com on a partnership to expand its prediction-markets business, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 24.

If the talks lead to a deal, Crypto.com's prediction-market system would be integrated into Robinhood's platform. That would allow Robinhood users to access Crypto.com's prediction markets directly through their existing Robinhood accounts without moving to an external app.

Robinhood has so far relied on partnerships with outside companies to meet demand for prediction markets. Rather than launching its own market, the company has offered customers access to event contracts through partners including Kalshi, ForecastEx and Interactive Brokers-owned Rotella.

Crypto.com operates its prediction-markets business through Crypto.com Derivatives North America, an affiliate regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In February, it launched a separate prediction-market platform called OG. It is also expanding a business that supplies event contracts and trading infrastructure to other platforms. A tie-up with Robinhood would give it access to tens of millions of retail investors.

Competition is intensifying as the prediction-markets industry grows rapidly. CoinGecko said global prediction markets posted $113.8 billion in notional trading volume in the second quarter, up 48.7% from the previous quarter. Rotella recorded $2.1 billion in volume in June, making it the industry's fourth-largest player shortly after launch. Robinhood's event-contract trading volume reached 3.9 billion in May, up 22% from a month earlier.

Regulatory uncertainty remains a key variable. Prediction-market operators argue that event contracts are financial products overseen by the CFTC, but some U.S. states are moving to block sports-related contracts, viewing them as effectively unlicensed gambling. If Robinhood and Crypto.com strike a partnership, it could further reshape a competitive landscape centered on Kalshi and Polymarket.