Prediction market platform Kalshi is linking up with Webull, a Florida-based digital brokerage, to launch event contracts on the platform. The partnership will allow Webull’s U.S.-based users to trade Kalshi’s binary event contracts tied to economic and financial outcomes, signaling a major push into the fast-growing prediction markets sector.
“We have continually focused on equipping our customers with the best products and streamlined trading tools while evolving alongside their needs. Offering prediction markets is a key step in fulfilling that commitment and expanding opportunities for our investors to access all areas of the capital markets,” Webull U.S. CEO Anthony Denier said in a press release.
According to the statement, the partnership will kick off by providing users access to short-term, cash-settled markets from Kalshi. These could be for events such as interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve, monthly CPI and unemployment reports, and corporate quarterly earnings results. From there, the companies will look to expand with a range of economic events alongside educational content to help retail investors make more informed decisions.
Competition heats up
It is not only Webull looking to get in on event contracts. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Robinhood teamed up with ForecastEx to launch presidential election markets ahead of the 2024 race, while Crypto.com rolled out sports event contracts ahead of the NFL playoffs—though the latter remains under review by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Robinhood also halted a similar rollout of Kalshi’s Super Bowl contracts at the request of the CFTC.
Who might be next?
If there were a market for which company will next join the fray, Coinbase might be a favorite. Last August, the cryptocurrency exchange platform defended prediction markets as the CFTC tried to crack down on event contracts. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has also promoted blockchain-based prediction markets.
.@trylimitless is a prediction market on @base
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) December 23, 2024
they made great progress this year, try it out! (and send them feedback) https://t.co/LnDFBR0uRw
A Coinbase partnership with a crypto-native prediction market platform seems plausible, but regulatory hurdles loom. Polymarket, a prediction market platform that runs on blockchain technology, remains banned in the U.S., and no similar platforms currently hold CFTC approval as Designated Contract Markets (DCM)—a key barrier to mainstream adoption in the U.S.
However, help may be on the way. Donald Trump recently tapped cryptocurrency and prediction market proponent Brian Quintenz to lead the CFTC. Quintenz is also, interestingly, on Kalshi’s board of advisors, along with Donald Trump Jr.
