Robinhood in talks to offer Crypto.com prediction market contracts, WSJ reports
NEW YORK, July 25. Robinhood Markets is in discussions to add prediction market contracts from Crypto.com's derivatives business to its platform, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under a potential deal, Robinhood customers would trade yes-or-no contracts that Crypto.com's derivatives unit originates and manages. No agreement has been reached.
Key takeaways
- Robinhood Markets is in talks to add prediction market contracts from Crypto.com's derivatives business to its platform, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Under the potential deal, Robinhood customers would trade yes-or-no contracts that Crypto.com's derivatives unit originates and manages, while Robinhood acts as the distribution layer.
- No agreement has been reached, and the Journal named no deal terms, financial figures, timeline, or executives from either company.
- The talks come amid growing rivalry between Robinhood and prediction market exchange Kalshi.
- Distributing Crypto.com's existing contracts would give Robinhood a faster path into prediction markets than building its own contract infrastructure.
NEW YORK, July 25. Robinhood Markets is in discussions to add prediction market contracts from Crypto.com's derivatives business to its platform, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under a potential deal, Robinhood customers would trade yes-or-no contracts that Crypto.com's derivatives unit originates and manages. No agreement has been reached.
How the arrangement would work
Yes-or-no contracts are the instrument at the core of prediction markets. A buyer takes a side on whether a named event will occur, and the contract settles once the outcome is confirmed. Crypto.com's derivatives arm already writes and manages these products. Under the structure the Journal described, Robinhood would function as the distribution layer: its retail customer base would gain access to contracts that another company creates and backstops, not contracts Robinhood itself builds.
That structure separates the two companies' roles. The originating company sets terms and holds settlement exposure. The distributing company routes customers to the product. Who would carry regulatory responsibility for the contracts as they flow through Robinhood accounts is not described in the Journal's account, and the answer would shape what protections apply on the retail end.
Competition with Kalshi
The talks are taking place as rivalry between Robinhood and Kalshi, a prediction market exchange, has grown, the Journal reported. Kalshi is the named competitive reference in the report.
For Robinhood, distributing Crypto.com's existing contracts would represent a faster path into the prediction market category than building contract infrastructure from the ground up. For Crypto.com's derivatives unit, Robinhood's retail base would represent a new distribution outlet for products already in operation.
What remains unresolved
The Journal named no deal terms, no financial figures, no timeline, and no executives from either Robinhood or Crypto.com. The report describes active discussions between the two companies. Neither confirmed the talks through statements cited by the Journal. No deal has been signed.