Robinhood: Tenev Sees Crypto Outpacing Sports

Sports served as bait. Crypto is sweeping the board. This is essentially what Robinhood's CEO explained to Jim Cramer on CNBC, reviewing a segment that no one expected to be so high on predictive markets: crypto-related contracts.
Key points of this article:

• Robinhood has seen an explosion in revenue from crypto contracts, far surpassing that from sports, with a jump to $156 million.
• Strategic partnerships with Kalshi, Rothera, and Crypto.com show Robinhood's ambition to dominate the prediction market, despite the reluctance of the U.S. Congress.

$156 million, ten times more than a year ago

<< We already see other categories, like crypto, taking a disproportionate share >>, explained Vlad Tenev, as quoted by Decrypt. << I think that in a few years, sports will actually be in the minority. >> The numbers already support him on the trend, if not on the timing. Revenue from event contracts surged more than tenfold year-on-year, reaching $156 million in the second quarter of 2026, becoming the most dynamic segment of the platform while traditional crypto trading declined. In August, 4.7 billion contracts changed hands, about fifteen times the volume from a year earlier.

For Tenev, sports have always been just an entry point. << Sports have been a great tool to bring people in, create liquidity, and establish a foothold >>, he conceded, before adding that the sector is now expanding well beyond that.

Kalshi, Rothera, Crypto.com: Robinhood Bets on All Fronts

The infrastructure follows the ambition. Robinhood has built its offering on Kalshi, the platform that had the CFTC bend to its will in court to offer contracts related to elections. It also includes Rothera, its joint venture with trading firm Susquehanna, tested during the World Cup. Just this month, Robinhood took minority stakes in Crypto.com and its predictive markets subsidiary OG.com. Three partners, one ambition: to leave nothing to CME, Coinbase, or decentralized platforms that, like Polymarket, broke ground years earlier.

Tenev gives a concrete example to sell his idea: << If you have an opinion on the CLARITY Act, we have a market for that. >> A political opinion thus becomes, with one click, a traded position.

Washington Is Not Thrilled

Congress, however, looks at all this with a much more skeptical eye. More than ten bills have been introduced since January to regulate these markets, including the PREDICT Act, which would prohibit elected officials and high-ranking federal officials from betting on political events they influence themselves. The line between investment and betting continues to spark debate in Washington, without currently slowing users' appetite.

In any case, Robinhood is just one client among others of the infrastructure that makes all this possible. Kalshi itself has raised staggering amounts this year to solidify its position as a giant in the sector. The table is expanding faster than expected, and everyone wants a seat.

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