Robinhood CEO Bets Crypto to Outperform Sports in Prediction Markets
Morning Minute: Robinhood CEO Says Crypto Contracts Are Overtaking Sports in Prediction Markets
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says cryptocurrency-linked event contracts are rapidly becoming the main driver of activity in the company’s prediction markets, and he expects sports contracts to shrink to a minority share within the next few years.
Tenev made the comments in an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “Mad Money,” describing sports as an early “wedge” that helped bring in liquidity and users, but arguing the category is no longer the center of gravity for the business.
The shift is showing up in Robinhood’s numbers. The company’s event-contract revenue climbed to $156 million in Q2 2026, more than ten times higher than the same quarter a year earlier. Trading activity also surged, with contract trading volume reaching $4.7 billion in August—about 15 times August 2025’s level.
According to coverage cited from Decrypt, interest in Bitcoin price-related predictions and other crypto-based event contracts has been expanding faster than more traditional prediction-market categories. Tenev said crypto contracts are already taking a “disproportionate share” of Robinhood’s prediction markets business.
The broader context is that crypto attention appears to be returning, and Robinhood’s data suggests that renewed interest is translating into participation in crypto-linked market products. The company’s prediction markets unit has become one of its fastest-growing lines, even as the same reporting period showed crypto trading revenue declining.
- What happened: Tenev said crypto event contracts are dominating Robinhood’s prediction markets and could push sports into a minority share.
- Why it matters: The growth figures indicate prediction markets are becoming a meaningful revenue stream, and crypto-linked contracts are driving a large portion of the momentum.
- What the data shows: $156 million in event-contract revenue in Q2 2026 and $4.7 billion in August volume, both sharply higher year over year.
