Crypto.com is expanding its presence in prediction markets by building an internal market-making team, a move the exchange says is intended to deepen liquidity and improve trading conditions while remaining compliant with US regulations. The development comes as outcome-based markets attract growing interest from both retail traders and institutional participants, alongside heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Bloomberg reported that Crypto.com is recruiting for a quantitative trading role to support buying and selling contracts linked to sporting event outcomes on its prediction platform. The report has renewed debate over exchanges facilitating trading against customer orders, a structure that can raise concerns about conflicts of interest if not carefully governed.
Regulatory Disclosure and Market Structure
In a statement, a Crypto.com spokesperson said the internal market maker is fully disclosed to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and operates across the firm’s North American derivatives business. The spokesperson emphasized that internal and external market makers are subject to the same rules and surveillance standards.
According to the company, no market maker receives a first look at customer orders, and the internal trading desk does not access proprietary data or customer order flow ahead of other participants. Crypto.com added that it does not rely on proprietary trading for revenue and positions its business as risk-neutral, generating income primarily from customer fees.
Prediction markets occupy a complex regulatory space, sitting at the intersection of derivatives, gaming, and financial forecasting. As volumes grow, regulators have focused on whether liquidity provision models protect market integrity and prevent unfair informational advantages.
Competitive Landscape in Prediction Markets
Crypto.com’s approach is broadly consistent with practices across the prediction market sector, where liquidity provision is often supported by designated or professional market makers. Institutional participants typically require tighter spreads and deeper order books than purely peer-to-peer models can provide.
Kalshi, a federally regulated event-contract exchange, relies on designated market makers and has publicly acknowledged partnerships with quantitative trading firms as trading activity expanded. Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform that gained visibility during the US presidential election cycle, is also reported to be developing its own internal market-making operation.
As competition intensifies, exchanges face pressure to balance liquidity, transparency, and regulatory compliance. For Crypto.com, the internal market maker represents an effort to meet institutional trading standards while addressing concerns around fairness in a closely watched segment of the derivatives market.
