Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange and financial platform, announced Tuesday it launched “OG,” a new prediction platform experience.
Key Takeaways
- Crypto.com introduced the first sports event contracts in the U.S. in December 2024.
- OG will offer markets in the sports, financial, entertainment, and political industries.
- The announcement emphasized OG’s commitment to federal compliance.
OG offers Crypto.com users the ability to trade contracts, engage with other users, and climb an integrated leaderboard.
Using Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA), which is licensed by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as an exchange and clearinghouse, OG customers can buy and sell contracts related to real-world events. That includes markets in a variety of industries, such as the winner of the upcoming Super Bowl and the next U.S. presidential election, or which actors will win an Oscar.
“Crypto.com successfully built one of the largest brands and best app experiences in cryptocurrency during a period of hypergrowth amid a complex regulatory landscape, and now we will work to replicate this experience with OG in the prediction market space,” said Kris Marszalek, cofounder and CEO of Crypto.com. “We've experienced 40x weekly growth in our prediction market business over the last six months. This type of growth warrants a concerted effort with a standalone platform.”
OG also plans to provide access to CDNA’s margin prediction contracts. When launched, it will become the first prediction platform to offer margin trading, which involves using borrowed capital to leverage the customer’s position size.
OG will service customers across the political, entertainment, and financial industries. However, it made a point to appeal to sports fans and consumers.
“Our goal is to establish OG as the premier sports prediction market technology with the best customer experience,” Marszalek said.
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OG’s setup, philosophy
Nick Lundgren will take charge of OG, serving as the platform’s CEO. He also works as chief legal officer of Crypto.com, where he became an industry trailblazer by introducing the country’s first CFTC-regulated sports event contracts in December 2024.
“Crypto.com was the first company to offer federally licensed sports prediction contracts in the United States, so launching OG is very fitting,” said Lundgren. “We have tremendous momentum and expertise to establish OG as a market leader for consumers in this deca-billion dollar industry and have had excellent success with our prediction markets partners.”
Sports event contracts have proved to be both extremely popular for prediction platforms and extremely controversial. On Tuesday morning, the New York attorney general warned sports fans about the risks of using prediction markets ahead of Super Bowl LX.
Prediction apps reported significant growth in their customer bases during the NFL season, mirroring the "40x weekly growth" over the last six months mentioned by Marszalek. However, state regulators have argued these platforms act as unlicensed and unregulated sportsbooks.
“Sports are the natural hub of prediction markets, and we see a massive opportunity to provide fans with an all-encompassing platform where it pays to be right,” said Lundgren. “I am thrilled to be leading OG and establishing this new era of prediction markets that will include parlays, margin trading, and a dynamic social layer.”
OG launches with a VIP program that leverages Crypto.com’s sports and entertainment portfolio. VIP experiences will involve the Crypto.com Arena, UFC, Formula 1, UEFA Champions League, and more.
Tuesday’s announcement also noted OG will have a “commitment to compliance” with its CFTC guidelines.
