Copyright Decrypt
Social gaming app MyPrize is taking a punt on prediction markets, signing a distribution deal with crypto exchange Crypto.com’s North American affiliate. MyPrize will now list event contracts from Crypto.com for “sports, politics, cryptocurrency, and more” on its app, which the company claims has more than 1 million global users. It joins a growing list of distributors for Crypto.com prediction markets, including Hollywood.com, daily fantasy sports app Underdog, and President Donald Trump’s media company Trump Media. The announcement from MyPrize didn’t specify how the two companies will share revenue, but event contract distribution deals typically involve the prediction-market company giving the distributor a cut of the trading fees generated on listed markets. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment from Decrypt. The prediction market industry has been growing rapidly. In the past week, trading volume on prediction markets has remained above $2 billion, mainly driven by frontrunners Kalshi and Polymarket, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard. The dashboard, though, doesn’t include event contracts for Crypto.com, or newer offerings from sports betting firms, such as FanDuel. Prediction markets, at the U.S. federal level, are regulated by the CFTC. Crypto.com’s affiliate, North American Derivatives Exchange, has held a designated contract markets license through the CFTC since 2004. The license allows them to self-certify event contracts, a type of federally regulated financial product that allows traders to speculate on the outcome of an event. The company began offering prediction markets in December of last year. “We are seeing a massive change in how financial markets are converging with other products. We have been at the forefront of the convergence of crypto with TradFi,” Travis McGhee, Managing Director, Global Head of Capital Markets at Crypto.com said in a press release. “Now, we are at the forefront of a similar convergence with live social platforms and financial markets with our partner, MyPrize.” MyPrize offers free-to-play social games, or sweepstakes casinos. That means users don’t need an initial purchase to play, but they can redeem their Gold Coins or Sweeps Cash winnings for real money once they become eligible. Deals like this have been common among DCM license holders getting into the prediction market space. Prediction market frontrunner Kalshi and trading platform Robinhood teamed up earlier this year to offer users March Madness-themed event contracts. In a recent earrings call, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said predictions markets “are really on fire,” adding that trading volumes have doubled every quarter since debuting the offering on its app.
