Robinhood Expands Prediction Market Footprint with Crypto.com and OG.com
Robinhood is aggressively scaling its prediction market operations, securing equity stakes in Crypto.com and its upcoming spin-out venue, OG.com. According to a report from The Defiant, Robinhood began routing a selection of football event contracts to Crypto.com's CFTC-regulated exchange on Tuesday. The multi-year agreement establishes OG.com—which is being spun out at a massive $5 billion valuation—as the primary infrastructure and clearing engine for what Decrypt notes is currently Robinhood's fastest-growing business line.
Kalshi Election Data Goes Live on DoubleZero
As retail platforms like Robinhood expand their event contracts, institutional access to prediction markets is also widening. On Wednesday, trading platform DoubleZero integrated Kalshi's election market data ahead of the upcoming U.S. midterms. CoinDesk reports that the expansion provides institutional and automated traders with real-time access to full-depth political prediction-market order books. Traders looking to track these institutional flows and optimize their strategies can utilize analytics on predictionmarketstools.com to monitor shifting midterm odds across the ecosystem.
Bettors Abandon Cheap Oil as Brent Passes $100
Beyond politics and sports, prediction markets are rapidly pricing in a global energy shift. Following Brent crude passing the $100 mark, bettors have definitively abandoned cheap oil contracts. According to Decrypt, Polymarket currently puts the odds of WTI crude reaching $100 this month at 59%. On rival platform Myriad, the $120 side of the oil market officially overtook the $55 side at the start of September.
UK Weighs Lifting 2019 Binary Options Ban
In regulatory developments, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is reportedly weighing lifting its ban on prediction markets. The watchdog has barred companies from offering binary options to retail investors since a 2019 directive. This potential regulatory easing comes as macroeconomic betting accelerates globally; Polymarket traders recently raised the odds of a quarter-point Federal Reserve rate hike next week, coinciding with Bitcoin ending the first U.S. session since Labor Day down 0.83% at $78,539.