Binance.US bets on derivatives and prediction markets

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Binance.US seeks CFTC license

Highlights

Binance.US plans to seek a CFTC market license in August.
Approval could open futures, options, and prediction contracts.
State-level legal disputes would remain unresolved.

Binance.US Chief Executive Stephen Gregory said the company expects to apply in August for designation as a contract market with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Approval could allow the exchange to list regulated futures, options, and event contracts for U.S. retail customers, Crypto.news reports.

New revenue beyond spot crypto

The planned application advances a strategy Gregory outlined earlier in July to pursue derivatives, perpetual futures and prediction markets. Binance.US is seeking additional revenue sources as it tries to recover from regulatory setbacks that reduced its U.S. market presence.

Gregory has said the exchange aims to regain the roughly 20% share of the American crypto market it once held. The company has restored dollar banking services in most of the states it supports and is also using lower fees and improved liquidity to attract customers back.

A CFTC license would bring Binance.US into competition with platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket US. Gemini obtained its own federal market license earlier this year, while Coinbase offers event contracts through a partnership with Kalshi.

Prediction markets draw larger platforms

Event contracts have become an increasingly important source of trading revenue. Robinhood reported $156 million in second-quarter revenue from the category, more than 10 times the year-earlier level, as customers traded over 13.6 billion contracts.

That growth helped Robinhood reach record quarterly revenue of $1.31 billion, even as its crypto transaction revenue declined 38% from a year earlier. The figures show why exchanges are looking to event contracts as a supplement to more volatile cryptocurrency trading income.

Federal approval would not settle state disputes

A CFTC license would not eliminate legal uncertainty. Several states argue that sports-related contracts fall under gambling laws even when offered by federally regulated commodities platforms.

A federal judge in Wisconsin recently allowed state enforcement to continue, rejecting the CFTC’s attempt to block action against several operators. Courts elsewhere have reached different conclusions, leaving companies without a consistent national standard.

The conflict matters because Binance.US is entering a market with strong demand but an unsettled regulatory boundary. The CFTC is reviewing changes to its event-contract rules, while attorneys general from 44 states have urged the agency to rewrite its proposal. Even with federal approval, Binance.US may face restrictions that vary significantly across the country.

We also reported prediction markets outperform most crypto platforms on user retention.

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