Crypto.com launches sports event trading contracts across the US
New CFTC-regulated product will allow users to predict the outcome of games using more than 350 different cryptocurrencies as well as cash
Crypto.com has announced the launch of its sports event trading product as the crypto exchange wades into the future contracts space.
The new feature will allow US-based users of Crypto.com and its app to trade their own prediction on the outcome of sporting fixtures, including huge events like the Super Bowl.
“Sports events trading offers an entirely new platform for US users to engage nationwide at Crypto.com and in the Crypto.com app,” explained Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com.
“This unique financial product allows users to trade their prediction on the outcome of a sports event.
“It’s a fundamentally new concept for sports, and we’re thrilled to be the first regulated platform in the US to offer it to our users.”
Users in all 50 US states will be able to participate, and wagers can be placed using either cash or more than 350 different cryptocurrencies.
Each user can submit a simple yes or no prediction to each predication market and earn a $100 payment for each correct event contract they own.
Crypto.com said its new derivatives product is Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated, while users will receive payments one business day after each respective event has concluded.
Crypto.com, which counts sponsorship deals with F1 and the UEFA Champions League, was founded in 2016 and has more than 100 million users across 90 countries.
Industry stakeholder and Eilers & Krejcik Gaming partner emeritus Chris Grove suggested that Crypto.com’s latest offering is one that has the potential to rival major sportsbooks within the US market.
Writing on LinkedIn, Grove claimed: “Is the product on par with what Amy Howe offers American consumers at FanDuel or what Jason Robins offers at DraftKings? Absolutely not.“Or, to be more precise, absolutely not … yet. But it’s a 50-state product that doesn’t have the same cost structure as regulated online sports betting offered by a brand with a suite of other products (like crypto) that OSB operators do not (and probably will never) offer.“It’s also part of an industry (crypto) and a philosophy (prediction markets are a source of truth) that appear to have significant sway within the Trump administration.”
Crypto.com’s expansion into sports betting contracts comes on the back of the wave of engagement in the US presidential election when the likes of Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood accepted thousands of trades on its outcome.
Robinhood traded more than 10 million election event contracts on the market’s first full day of operations.
The company rolled out the contracts to a select number of customers via its Robinhood Derivatives product in late October, joining Polymarket and Kalshi in offering the market.
Robinhood users were able to bet on a singular outcome of whether Trump or Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris would win the election.
On 5 December, Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev admitted sports betting was something the firm is “definitely thinking about”.
Pressed for comment on whether the success of the election event contracts would inspire a similar launch on the sports betting front, Tenev noted: “Generally speaking, we want to avoid specific product launches at these events.
“We want to save those for product events. But we’re definitely thinking about it.”