Robinhood says its fastest-growing prediction markets are no longer about sports or elections — they’re about bitcoin, gold and oil prices. The shift shows how retail traders are moving from betting on games to betting on financial-market volatility.
Robinhood prediction markets surge: bitcoin, gold and oil price contracts now the fastest-growing products.
Robinhood Prediction Markets: Bitcoin, Gold and Oil Contracts Lead Growth
According to JB Mackenzie, Robinhood’s VP and GM for futures and prediction markets, price-volatility contracts tied to bitcoin, crude oil and gold are among the fastest-growing products the company offers. He made the comments Thursday at the NEXTPredict conference in New York.
Sports remains the largest product on the platform, Mackenzie said — but the direction of travel is changing: “We’ve now started to see price volatility contracts, such as bitcoin, crude oil, gold, start to dominate the marketplace, and they’re the fastest growing products that are out there.” Crypto contracts have also been moving toward 15-minute settlement periods, making them some of the shortest-dated instruments available.
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision was Robinhood’s largest event contract in September, a sign that macro events — not just matchups — are pulling volume. Prediction markets are also drawing customers deeper into Robinhood’s stock, crypto and retirement products, potentially making the segment one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses. (Credits: Cheng Xin / Getty Images)
What It Signals About Retail Trading Appetite
The trend mirrors what the wider prediction-market industry is experiencing: platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have expanded well beyond elections into economics and pop culture. For readers, the takeaway is structural rather than financial — the gambling-ization of macro news is now a major product line at one of the biggest US brokerages, and regulators are watching how these short-dated volatility contracts are used.
This article reports what Robinhood disclosed; it is not financial or investment advice.
Also Read: Polymarket Reportedly Fires Marketing Chief and CEO’s Close Friend Amid Fake Trades Probe
Source: CoinDesk — read the full story there.
