Robinhood CEO sees crypto contracts dominating platform’s prediction markets

Robinhood Chairman and CEO Vlad Tenev told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that crypto event-contracts already take a disproportionate share of the platform’s prediction markets business, and he expects sports wagers to become the minority category within a few years. The claim lands as sports-linked contracts face active lawsuits from New York and Baltimore, giving crypto contracts room to grow largely outside that legal fight.

• Robinhood traded roughly nine billion event contracts on its platform over the past year, its fastest-growing revenue line.
• New York sued Kalshi in July 2025 seeking more than $36 billion in damages and a nationwide ban on its event contracts.
• Robinhood and Susquehanna formed a joint venture to acquire crypto exchange MIAXdx, formerly LedgerX.

• 9B event contracts traded on Robinhood in the past year
• $36B damages New York is seeking from Kalshi over sports contracts
• Nov 2025 when the Robinhood-Susquehanna deal for MIAXdx was announced

Speaking on CNBC’s “Mad Money”, Tenev pushed back on the notion that event contracts, yes-or-no trades on the outcome of a future event, amount to a rebrand of sports betting. Prediction markets have become one of the fastest-growing corners of US trading over the past year, with CME, Kalshi, Coinbase and decentralized platforms all competing for a share of the event-contract boom. Crypto-linked contracts have expanded alongside them, largely untouched by the sports-betting litigation now working through several state courts.

Tenev Tells Cramer Crypto Contracts Will Overtake Sports

Tenev framed crypto’s rise inside Robinhood’s prediction markets business as evidence the category is broader than sports betting rebranded.

We’re already seeing other categories like crypto taking a disproportionate share. And I think within a few years, sports will actually be in the minority.

Vlad Tenev, Robinhood Chairman and CEO

Robinhood traded about nine billion event contracts on its platform over the past year, a volume the company has called its fastest-growing revenue line to date.

Tenev did not give a specific timeline for when crypto contracts would overtake sports, but he tied the shift to a broader “ownership” push he has also used to justify Robinhood’s retirement-account matching program and its expansion into tokenized stocks.

New York Seeks $36 Billion From Kalshi Over Sports Contracts

Sports-linked event contracts have become prediction markets’ most contested corner, and that fight is what gives crypto contracts their opening. New York sued Kalshi in July 2025, seeking more than $36 billion in damages, along with a nationwide ban on its event contracts.

Baltimore separately sued Kalshi and Polymarket, calling their products unlicensed sportsbooks. New York City’s council has also opened its own inquiry into how Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase and Gemini Titan market prediction contracts to residents.

Crypto-linked event contracts have so far avoided that particular legal exposure, a gap that mirrors the regulatory uncertainty tracked in The CLARITY Act’s Window Is Closing. That uncertainty over federal versus state jurisdiction is precisely what has let crypto contracts grow while sports contracts remain tied up in New York, Baltimore and New York City proceedings.

Robinhood-Susquehanna Venture Targets MIAXdx Acquisition

Tenev’s comments track moves already underway inside Robinhood. The company recently formed a joint venture with market maker Susquehanna in November 2025 to acquire crypto exchange MIAXdx, formerly LedgerX, with plans to build dedicated prediction market infrastructure of its own.

That build-out parallels the exchange consolidation described in Ouinex’s launch of a multi-asset exchange merging crypto and traditional finance rails. Robinhood appears to be building the plumbing for the shift Tenev is forecasting rather than simply predicting it.

The CCS read. Tenev’s timeline is unverified, but the MIAXdx acquisition tells the real story: Robinhood is buying regulated infrastructure precisely because crypto contracts sit outside the sports-betting lawsuits. If New York’s case against Kalshi drags on, capital and volume will keep migrating toward the category with fewer legal landmines, regardless of what happens in court.

Whether crypto contracts overtake sports on Tenev’s stated timeline remains unproven, but the next marker will be how New York’s $36 billion suit against Kalshi resolves and whether that outcome extends to crypto-linked products still outside the litigation.