Robinhood ties up with Crypto.com on prediction markets, takes minority stake
What's the deal? Robinhood MarketsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → struck a multi-year deal to carry Crypto.com's yes-or-no event contracts on its app, while also acquiring minority stakes in the digital-currency exchange and its prediction-markets unit, OG.comDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Terms, including the size of Robinhood's investments, were not disclosed.
How it works: Event contracts from Crypto.com's OG.com operation will be available on Robinhood's app, according to the Wall Street Journal. Crypto.com also spun OG out into a stand-alone company. In July, Citadel Securities bought stakes in both, valuing them at $15 billion and $5 billion, respectively.
Why now? JB Mackenzie, Robinhood's vice president and general manager of futures and prediction markets, said the timing matters as football season begins and midterm elections approach. "It's something [our customers] want to trade," he said. He added the deal lets Robinhood offer more competitive pricing and a broader range of contracts.
What's the endgame? Crypto.com chief executive officer Kris Marszalek said the partnership aims to draw more traders and institutions onto the platform. "We think this is the beginning of a very strategic relationship, and the prediction-market event contracts are just the first product we're going to be launching together," he told the outlet. The two have also discussed equity-linked perpetual futures, pending regulatory approval.
By the numbers: Prediction markets are a growing part of Robinhood's business. Event contracts revenue climbed more than 10x year-over-year to $156 million in the second quarter, with contracts traded rising more than 10x to a record 13.6 billion. Total net revenues hit a record $1.31 billion, up 32%.
The context: The deal extends Robinhood's push into event contracts, which it entered via Kalshi, the leading US platform. It also launched RotheraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a derivatives exchange, with Susquehanna International GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The signal: The sector is drawing heavy competition. Combined trading volume across Kalshi and Polymarket hit $50 billion last year and has topped $130 billion in 2026. Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has directed a team to build a rival app, and sports betting operators FanDuel and DraftKings have also entered the space.
Read more: qz.com
Image credit: ajay_suresh
