Key Insights
- Robinhood and Susquehanna International Group have bought 90% of LedgerX.
- The move will see the online brokerage firm establish itself in the prediction market sector.
- Multiple deals are getting inked in the sector as prediction markets boom in the US.
Online brokerage firm Robinhood has announced the acquisition of LedgerX, a regulated derivatives exchange once owned by FTX. Robinhood is acquiring 90% of the exchange in a partnership with Robinhood Markets Inc. and Susquehanna International Group.
Although the cost of the deal was not disclosed, LedgerX is currently owned by Miami International Holdings. The company acquired it from FTX for $50 million during the failed exchange’s bankruptcy proceedings.
LedgerX Acquisition Part of Robinhood Prediction Market Strategy
According to reports, the deal is expected to close by the first quarter of 2026, after which LedgerX is anticipated to begin operating. The move by Robinhood is part of the brokerage firm’s effort to capture market share in the rapidly growing prediction market sector.
With the deal, the firms will gain control of LedgerX’s infrastructure, which they need to list and clear event contracts. Both Robinhood and Susquehanna already have connections to the sector.
The brokerage firm offers Kalshi event contracts from the leading prediction markets platform, Kalshi, to retail users on its platform. Susquehanna serves as a market maker for Kalshi.
Speaking on the deal, Robinhood Vice President and General Manager of Futures and International, JB Mackenzie, stated that the investment is based on customer demand. This is not surprising given that Robinhood reported that customers traded over 2.3 billion event contracts in Q3.
He said:
Robinhood is seeing strong customer demand for prediction markets. Our investment in infrastructure will position us to deliver an even better experience and more innovative products for customers.”
Meanwhile, Robinhood getting its own regulated derivatives exchange could mean less reliance on Kalshi for events contracts. Experts believe this could impact Kalshi, which has been utilising the online brokerage to reach a broader audience of retail users. More than half of Kalshi’s trading volume in recent months has been through Robinhood.
Prediction Market Players Seeing More Deals
Robinhood’s LedgerX deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions of derivatives exchanges in the US. Over the past few months, DraftKings has acquired Railbird, while Polymarket bought QCX. FanDuel has also partnered with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to create a prediction market platform.
All these deals are happening because of the growth of prediction markets in the US. The sector has seen significant growth since the 2024 presidential election, when event contracts on Polymarket accurately predicted the election winner.
Since then, the sector has expanded beyond political events to other areas such as economics and sports. Sports event contracts, particularly those in the established sports betting sector, have gained momentum.
With the growth, the sector is now eating into the market share of traditional sports betting platforms. This explains why firms like FanDuel and DraftKings are also venturing into the prediction market.
However, the new entrants may face some competition, especially from established upstarts. Kalshi and Polymarket have already established themselves with weekly volumes of around $1 billion each.
Moses K is a crypto journalist covering markets, regulation, and blockchain trends. He has written for The Coin Republic, Coinchapter, Cryptopolitan, Cryptotale, Coinspeaker, and MPost. Known for his concise, data-driven reporting, Moses focuses on price analysis, on-chain metrics, and policy developments shaping the global digital asset landscape.
