Business
Trump media firm dives into red hot prediction markets with Crypto.com
The company that owns the Trump family’s media properties plans to incorporate prediction markets into Truth Social, the social media site that President Donald Trump launched in 2022.
On Tuesday, Trump Media & Technology Group announced it has partnered with Crypto.com to develop a new product called “Truth Predict,” which is slated to launch in the near future, according to a statement. A spokesperson for Crypto.com did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the specific timeline.
Prediction markets are exchanges where people can bet on the outcome of events. The prices of the outcomes reflect people’s forecasts, which can be more accurate than traditional forecasting methods. Truth Social users will be able to to bet on elections, inflation rate changes, sports, and commodity prices on gold and crude oil, according to the statement.
The announcement comes at a time when enthusiasm for prediction markets has reached a fever pitch. In early October, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange invested $2 billion in Polymarket, one of the marquee prediction markets. Meanwhile, a growing list of other companies like Robinhood are jumping into the sector.
Prediction markets are currently dominated by Polymarket and its rival Kalshi, which became household names during last year’s presidential election campaign. During that time, millions of people bet more than $3 billion on the outcome of the election. Fast forward a year later, Polymarket is valued at $9 billion and Kalshi is valued at about $5 billion.
The recent hype around prediction markets has been driven in part by sports betting, which has led Kalshi and Polymarket to challenge the likes of DraftKings. It’s unclear for now if sports will be a focus of prediction markets on Truth Social, or if the platform will focus more on politics.
This is not the first partnership between Trump’s media arm and Crypto.com. In August, the company that owns the Trump family’s media properties raised more than $6 billion to acquire a supply of the digital token Cronos, which is issued by Crypto.com. That deal also involved Trump Media adding the crypto exchange’s token and crypto wallet to its platforms.
Trump Media touts the effort as a way to make prediction markets more accessible to everyday Americans.
“For too long, global elites have closely controlled these markets – with Truth Predict, we’re democratizing information and empowering everyday Americans to harness the wisdom of the crowd,” said Devin Nunes, Chairman and CEO of Trump Media, in the statement.
