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coinbase The company is preparing to launch an internal prediction market with Kalsi’s support, people familiar with the matter told CNBC, in a strategic move to expand the number of asset classes available on crypto exchanges as some investors shy away from digital assets.
Coinbase and Kalsi will officially announce their prediction market soon, the person said, adding that news could be announced as early as next week. The partnership is not exclusive, but Kalsi will be the only prediction market operator to work with Coinbase at product launch, according to people familiar with the matter.
Rumors about the launch of a prediction market have been swirling for nearly a month. A purported screenshot of Coinbase’s prediction market dashboard, shared by Silicon Valley researcher Jane Manchun Wong in an X post dated November 18, provided some clues about the new product.
The Information first reported on November 19th that Coinbase plans to launch a prediction market powered by Kalshi, adding that the exchange will announce the new product at its “Coinbase System Update” event on December 17th. Bloomberg published a similar report on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that Coinbase will also announce a tokenized stock offering at the showcase.
Coinbase declined to confirm the report to CNBC, but said it will keep an eye on next week’s events. The company did not comment on when the prediction market would be made available to users.
Coinbase’s upcoming product launches highlight the company’s efforts to reinvent itself as an “Everything Exchange,” a one-stop shop for trading all types of assets, including crypto tokens, tokenized stocks, and event contracts. In May, CEO Brian Armstrong made his Everything Exchange vision clear to investors, saying Coinbase aims to become the top financial services app within the next 10 years.
Trading platforms have set their sights on that goal as they face increasing competition from rivals such as: robin hood, gemini And the Kraken. All three companies have started offering tokenized stocks to users outside the US within the past year, in addition to exploring prediction markets to varying degrees.
Coinbase’s move to expand the range of financial products available to its users also comes as investor sentiment toward digital assets cools. A spate of liquidations of positions in highly leveraged digital assets in mid-October triggered some selloffs in the crypto market, prompting investors to move away from tokens and into gold and other safe-haven assets.
Bitcoin By early December, it had fallen to about $85,000, its lowest price since March of last year. The token last traded price was $89,951, down 23% in the past three months. Coinbase has also fallen over 16% in the past three months.
The deal also highlights US-based prediction market operator Karsi’s efforts to incorporate its event contracts into a variety of intermediaries, expanding its reach amid increasing competition in the prediction market space.
This year, Kalsi integrated some of its prediction markets into trading platform Robinhood as part of a non-exclusive partnership between the two companies. People familiar with the matter told CNBC that Kalsi is also in talks with several other major brokerages, including those in the crypto industry, with the aim of closing more deals like the one with Robinhood and now Coinbase.
