Prediction markets crossed another milestone in June, surpassing $50 billion in monthly trading volume for the first time. The same week, European regulators initiated a new coordinated response to the sector, DraftKings completed the launch of its own exchange, and Cboe proposed bringing prediction-style contracts into the U.S. securities market. Europe Starts Closing Ranks on Prediction Markets European regulators are taking a closer look at the prediction markets. Gambling regulators from nine countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium, issued a joint warning ahead of the World Cup, promising closer cooperation and enforcement against platforms that operate without local authorisation. They also urged sports leagues and clubs to verify the legal status of prediction market operators before signing commercial partnerships. At the same time, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) reminded firms that many event contracts may already fall under the EU’s long-standing restrictions on binary options. The regulator said that simply calling a product an “event contract” does not change how it should be classified under MiFID II. Taken together, the statements suggest Europe is moving toward a more coordinated regulatory approach. Gambling regulators are focusing on licensing and consumer protection, while securities regulators are examining whether some prediction market products already fit within existing financial rules. DraftKings Bets on Its Own Exchange DraftKings has completed the launch of DKeX, its in-house prediction market exchange built around the Railbird platform it acquired last year. The company spent eight months developing the venue before moving its event contracts off third-party infrastructure. By operating its own exchange, DraftKings can keep trading, matching, and clearing within the same ecosystem rather than relying on external providers. The move follows similar decisions by Robinhood and Coinbase, both of which have also brought key pieces of exchange infrastructure in-house as their prediction market businesses expanded. Owning exchange infrastructure turns into a competitive advantage in prediction markets, allowing firms to capture more of the economics behind every trade instead of sharing them with third-party venues.Cboe Wants to Turn Company Metrics Into Tradable Events Cboe is seeking SEC approval to list binary options tied to corporate performance metrics, expanding prediction-style trading beyond macroeconomic data and market indexes. The proposal covers more than 100 metrics across 23 companies, including Nvidia data centre revenue, Apple iPhone shipments, and SpaceX revenue. Rather than trading how a stock reacts to earnings, investors would trade whether a specific business metric reaches a predefined threshold. Unlike prediction markets operated by Kalshi under CFTC rules, Cboe’s contracts would be listed as securities options, cleared by the Options Clearing Corporation, and distributed through the existing brokerage ecosystem. The proposal suggests that prediction-style products are moving beyond event contracts into traditional capital markets, where company fundamentals themselves could become tradable binary outcomes. Number of the Week Prediction markets surpassed $50 billion in monthly trading volumefor the first time in June, according to Artemis data. Volume rose 75% from May, helped by World Cup-driven activity. Kalshi remained the largest venue with roughly $33 billion in monthly volume, followed by Polymarket at $14 billion and Rothera at about $2 billion.Meanwhile, around 70% of all closed Polymarket markets have generated less than $10,000 in trading volume, according to CNBC’s analysis of the platform’s Gamma API.Most prediction market contracts have low volume, leaving users exposed to volatility and bots https://t.co/eoLTAsNwQs— CNBC (@CNBC) July 2, 2026The finding illustrates an important characteristic of prediction markets: record platform-wide volume is concentrated in a relatively small number of high-profile events, while most individual markets remain thinly traded.Bottom Line June’s record trading volume was driven in large part by the World Cup. The next test is whether prediction markets can sustain that level of activity once the tournament ends. The other question is which framework absorbs the product. Cboe is asking the SEC to approve prediction-style contracts as securities options, ESMA says many event contracts already fall under MiFID II, and gambling regulators are asserting licensing authority ahead of the World Cup. The SEC's response to Cboe's filing will be the first concrete signal. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

In its 3 July statement, ESMA warned that event contracts may fall within the EU’s long-standing retail ban on binary options. The regulator addressed a market that barely exists in Europe and raised the bar for any future launch.The prediction market boom has so far been a US story. Kalshi and Crypto.com operate under CFTC oversight, Polymarket serves its global audience from offshore, and none of the major platforms runs a licensed European operation. Any firm considering a European launch must first answer a more basic question: how would its contracts be classified under EU law? Regulators Acted Before the Market Arrived European regulators have so far targeted platforms that reach local users without holding local licences. On 26 May, Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs temporarily blocked Kalshi and Polymarket for operating without a gambling licence. On 19 June, gambling regulators from nine European countries issued a joint statement against unlicensed prediction market platforms targeting the region. The signatories, including Belgium, France, Germany and Spain, cited consumer protection and integrity risks around the FIFA World Cup and urged sports bodies to check operators’ legal status before signing partnerships. On 3 July, ESMA said that existing national product intervention measures on binary options apply to event contracts that qualify as financial instruments. Until this month, the operative question was gambling licensing. National regulators in Belgium, France, and elsewhere had treated event contracts as unlicensed betting products. ESMA's statement adds another question: whether the product qualifies as a financial instrument under MiFID II. The regulator did not answer it with a new ban. Instead, it tied the consequences to the classification itself: where an event contract does qualify, existing national restrictions on binary options may apply to that contract. Legal commentators had flagged this classification gap months before ESMA stepped in.Four Routes In, None of Them Tested Four business models could, in principle, bring prediction products to Europe. None currently does so in licensed form, and after ESMA each faces its own classification question first. The fourth row reflects the current state of the market. None of the major MiCA-licensed exchanges has publicly announced plans to offer prediction products in Europe. Crypto.com, often cited alongside Kalshi and Polymarket, runs its prediction offering through Crypto.com Derivatives North America, a CFTC-regulated exchange serving US clients. ESMA’s statement means a firm considering a European launch now faces a contract-by-contract legal assessment before it can determine which licence, if any, to apply for. The Classification Question Comes First In March, before ESMA's statement, lawyer Terence Cassar argued on the Oxford Business Law Blog that the core problem for the European market was the absence of a clear classification for prediction contracts. He outlined three possible outcomes: a contract may qualify as a MiFID II derivative, in some cases a binary option; it may be prohibited outright on public policy grounds; or, falling outside MiFID II, it may default to national gambling frameworks. He proposed a structured "Prediction Test", modelled on Malta's Financial Instrument Test for crypto-assets, to guide classification by exclusion. The legal uncertainty identified by commentators is now beginning to receive regulatory clarification. ESMA's statement establishes that, for at least part of the event contract universe, the analysis starts with MiFID II. ESMA has clarified one part of the European puzzle, without creating a clear route to market. Any firm considering a launch must now start with contract classification, before licensing, distribution or product design. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Prediction markets surpassed $50 billion in monthly trading volume for the first time in June, with activity jumping 75% from May, according to Artemis data. The milestone coincided with the FIFA World Cup, making June as much a test of event-driven demand as a new market record. Kalshi remained the largest venue, recording roughly $33 billion in monthly volume. Polymarket processed $14 billion combined across its international platform and its recently launched US-regulated exchange. Rothera, the Robinhood-backed venue, added roughly $2 billion.A World Cup or a New Baseline? The World Cup, which began on June 11, has been the industry's largest liquidity event to date. Kalshi alone processed $7.4 billion in World Cup trades during the tournament, more than its entire March Madness volume. Polymarket's World Cup trades accounted for about $6.4 billion, compared with just $138,000 during the 2022 World Cup. The June volumes also showed that prediction market infrastructure can support sustained trading activity around a single global event. Whether that reflects a permanent shift in market structure is less clear, as the World Cup is an exceptional catalyst that naturally concentrates liquidity into a short period.At the same time, user data suggests the World Cup may not be the whole story. A Bitget Wallet study of 857,000 active Polymarket users found that 60% had no prior onchain trading history, suggesting the prediction markets are attracting audiences beyond traditional crypto traders. This activity would not necessarily unwind once the tournament ends. What Brokers Should Watch The June figures function as a stress test: the industry has demonstrated it can attract institutional-scale liquidity when a global event captures public attention. If trading activity remains elevated after the World Cup ends, June may prove to be the beginning of a new baseline rather than a spike driven by a single sporting event. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Cboe Global Markets is seeking SEC approval to list binary options tied to corporate performance metrics, bringing prediction-style trading into the core of the US securities market. The proposal covers more than 100 metrics across 23 major companies, including SpaceX revenue, Nvidia data centre sales and Apple iPhone shipments. Unlike standard equity options, which track share prices, these contracts would settle on whether a specific business metric hits a predefined threshold. In effect, Cboe wants to turn parts of the earnings cycle into tradable yes-or-no events.Cboe is seeking US regulatory approval to list all-or-nothing options tied to corporate earnings results, allowing traders to wager on figures ranging from SpaceX revenue and Nvidia data-center sales to JPMorgan’s credit-loss provisions https://t.co/PKcBlWzpkn— Bloomberg (@business) July 1, 2026A Different Regulatory Route The filing gives Cboe a different path into event-based trading than Kalshi or Polymarket, which operate through CFTC-regulated designated contract markets. Cboe's proposed products would sit inside the SEC-regulated securities options framework instead. If approved, the contracts would be centrally cleared by the OCC, making them easier to distribute through existing brokerage accounts at firms such as Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers. It also gives the product a more familiar regulatory wrapper. SEC-regulated options as it could be easier for compliance teams to review. Prediction Markets Meet Corporate Research The proposal follows Cboe's launch of Cboe Predicts, which brought binary options on the S&P 500 to retail platforms. Moving into company KPIs is a more direct play on corporate research and earnings analysis. Instead of trading only the stock reaction to an earnings release, clients could take a position on the underlying metric itself, like iPhone shipments, data centre revenue, production numbers, exchange volume, or another measurable KPI. "Prediction markets are demanding real-time signals, and we are bringing that activity to time-tested venues," the exchange said. The move also puts Cboe closer to Kalshi's institutional strategy. The platform has been pushing custom event markets for firms such as ARK Invest, including contracts linked to macroeconomic and business data. What Brokers Should Take From It If the SEC approves the product, brokers could offer yes-or-no exposure to corporate metrics through existing securities accounts, without sending clients to a standalone prediction platform. As Cboe, Nasdaq and ICE explore event-linked products, access to simple outcome-based contracts may become part of the standard brokerage toolkit. The SEC's response will show how far outcome-based trading can move inside the traditional options market. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Owning exchange infrastructure is becoming a common strategy across prediction markets. Platforms that initially relied on third-party venues are increasingly bringing matching, clearing, and regulatory licences in-house, according to a new note from Bernstein.Infrastructure Is Moving In-HouseDraftKings became the latest company to make that shift with the launch of DKeX, its proprietary prediction markets exchange, integrated into the DraftKings Sports & Casino app. DKeX is built on the CFTC licence and technology DraftKings acquired through Railbird. It gives the company direct control over the exchange infrastructure behind its prediction markets offering, rather than relying on third-party venues.Boston based DraftKings just launched its own prediction markets exchange, DKeX.The new platform is built directly into the DraftKings app and comes as its Predictions product has grown to an estimated $3.4 billion in annualized consumer volume.— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) June 29, 2026Robinhood and Susquehanna rebranded MIAXdx as Rothera and began routing high-volume contracts, including World Cup markets, through their own venue rather than Kalshi, which had previously handled that flow. Robinhood has traded more than 16 billion event contracts year-to-date in 2026, against 12 billion for all of 2025.Coinbase took a similar route, launching event contracts before acquiring The Clearing Company to bring clearing in-house, and reached roughly $100 million in annualised prediction-market revenue within two months of launch. The common thread across all three: each previously paid someone else for exchange access and is now capturing that margin internally. Distribution without owned matching and clearing infrastructure increasingly looks like a rented position rather than a defensible one. A Market Is about to Get a Lot Bigger The race to own infrastructure makes more sense against the scale Bernstein expects the underlying market to reach. Analyst Gautam Chhugani projects total prediction-market volumes will hit $240 billion in 2026, a 370% jump from last year, and sees the market compounding at roughly 80% annually through 2030, reaching $1 trillion a year by the start of the next decade. He attributes the growth to expected federal regulatory clarity and to blockchain tokenisation improving liquidity. The composition of that volume is also expected to shift. Sports contracts account for more than 60% of trading today, but Chhugani sees that share roughly halving by 2030 as institutional flow builds around economic, business, and political contracts.Distribution Versus Infrastructure Bernstein frames the market around a clear split. On one side are scale players such as Robinhood, Coinbase and DraftKings. They have massive consumer distribution, brand recognition and acquisition channels, but they did not historically own the exchange pipes needed to support prediction-market activity at scale. On the other side are pure-play venues such as Kalshi and Polymarket. They have regulated infrastructure, early liquidity and stronger product focus, but they cannot match the consumer reach of the larger platforms. That imbalance is likely to shape the next wave of deals. Pure-play exchanges may become acquirers in some cases, but they are also obvious targets for companies that want regulated infrastructure without building it from scratch. Part of a Wider Pattern The same logic is visible beyond prediction markets. Kraken has been moving more clearing and payments infrastructure in-house, while Plus500 has positioned itself across both futures and event-contract routes in the US. Prediction markets are now following the same pattern: as volumes grow, control over exchange, clearing and distribution infrastructure is becoming part of the product strategy rather than a back-office detail. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Kalshi surpassed $10 billion in weekly notional volume for the first time, the platform confirmed this week. The record came during the FIFA World Cup, and the user data behind it tells a more interesting story than the headline number. A 90-day study of 857,000 active Polymarket users by Bitget Wallet found that 60% had no prior onchain trading history. Once on the platform, most users stayed there, averaging around 1,194 prediction market interactions over the period compared with just 12 DEX trades.JUST IN: @Kalshi surpasses $10B in Weekly Notional Volume for the first time ever pic.twitter.com/TvBV6lPGJ1— KalshiData (@kalshidata) June 28, 2026Rather than acting as a gateway into crypto trading, prediction markets are becoming a destination in their own right. The World Cup demonstrated how quickly that audience can scale around major live events. Kalshi processed $2.9 billion in World Cup trades within the tournament's first eleven days - more than its entire March Madness volume. Polymarket's football markets surpassed $5 billion, compared with just $138,000 in World Cup trading during the 2022 tournament. From User Growth to Revenue For exchanges, trading volume is only part of the story. Kalshi has topped $2 billion in annualised revenue, putting it within range of far older financial platforms.Kalshi has topped $2 billion in annualized revenue, putting it within striking distance of far older finance companies. But its $22 billion valuation depends on whether investors see it as a brokerage, exchange or betting app. Read more in our Finance newsletter:…— The Information (@theinformation) June 28, 2026Polymarket says its annualised revenue has surpassed $1 billion just six weeks after opening access to its US exchange, according to CNBC. Citizens Bank projects the sector will reach $10 billion in annual revenue by 2030. Coinbase says it is seeing the same behavioural pattern. According to Toni Gemayel, Head of Prediction Markets, only about 1% of users engage with prediction markets the way they would with any other asset class. The remaining 99%, he said, use them "almost as an alternative to traditional media or entertainment."Those revenues are being generated by a user base that often has little interest in broader crypto trading, and that creates a business tied to real-world events rather than crypto market cycles. Elections, policy decisions, and global sporting tournaments continue to generate user activity even when digital asset markets are subdued. Whether that holds depends partly on whether event-driven engagement survives the absence of a major catalyst. The tournament ends. The question is what the 60% of users with no trading history do next. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

While global platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi remain blocked by Japan’s strict gambling laws, prediction markets are quietly taking root through domestic startups. Their model borrows the same workaround that has allowed Japan’s $100 billion pachinko industry to operate for decades.Global prediction market platforms cannot legally operate in Japan, but that has not stopped prediction markets from emerging. Domestic startups are adapting the same legal workaround that has allowed Japan’s pachinko industry to operate for decades.Miraima app is a perfect example of the trend. Being just seven months old the app has already attracted one million monthly users. The platform lets users wager on sports, stocks, and political events using points rather than cash. Winnings are redeemed separately through gift cards and retail reward programmes, primarily PayPay and Rakuten. The Pachinko Model Goes Digital The structure is familiar to anyone who knows Japan’s pachinko industry. Rather than paying cash directly, pachinko parlours award physical tokens that are exchanged for money through separate businesses. Prediction market startups are applying the same principle digitally: users wager points inside the platform, while rewards are redeemed separately through third-party loyalty programmes. “Since real-money gambling isn’t possible, we built the platform around Japan’s strong gaming and point-collecting culture,” Miraima founder Keita Adachi told Bloomberg.Miraima describes itself as “Japan’s first” prediction market and a points activity app. In its own social media bio, the company says users can predict outcomes in areas such as politics and sports without betting money, then exchange correct predictions for gift vouchers.The product presentation points in the same direction. Miraima displays event probabilities, market charts, trending topics, and sports categories in a format that closely resembles established prediction market platforms such as Polymarket. International Platforms Take Different Routes International operators have responded differently to Japan’s regulatory environment. Polymarket recently appointed former Jupiter Japan head Mike Eidlin to lead its efforts in the country. The company has publicly identified 2030 as its target for regulatory approval, coinciding with the opening of MGM Osaka, Japan’s first integrated casino resort. Elsewhere, Polymarket and Kalshi continue accepting users in India despite the country’s evolving regulatory landscape. Japan, by contrast, remains a market where neither platform currently operates directly. What It Means for Brokers Japan remains closed to conventional prediction market products. At the same time, the rapid growth of point-based platforms suggests demand for event-based trading already exists under the current legal framework. The model rests on a key legal distinction: users do not formally wager or receive cash directly through the platform itself. Lawyers following the market say that distinction remains defensible under current law, although future enforcement could ultimately test that interpretation. Japan is also increasing the 2026 budget for its Casino Management Commission while expanding digital monitoring capabilities. Whether point-based prediction markets continue operating under the existing framework, or become part of a future regulated market, will depend on how regulators choose to apply existing gambling laws. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Tradeweb Markets, which is also a minority investor in Kalshi, has launched a dedicated prediction market data suite on its platform, integrating real-time event probabilities from Kalshi alongside traditional fixed-income, credit, and equity market data. The launch expands Tradeweb’s market data offering and gives institutional clients access to prediction market probabilities within the same workflows they already use for pricing and execution.Today we announced the launch of a dedicated @Kalshi pricing page on the Tradeweb platform, giving U.S. institutional clients access to key event contract data alongside the existing tools and information they use to analyze markets and manage risk. The pricing page will also… pic.twitter.com/g69Rei67pr— Tradeweb (@Tradeweb) June 24, 2026Today’s launch represents the first operational phase of the partnership announced earlier this year, with Tradeweb initially integrating Kalshi’s market data into its existing institutional workflows.Tradeweb and Kalshi have also said they plan to develop analytics combining event probabilities with pricing, liquidity, and macroeconomic data, extending the integration beyond a standalone market data feed.From Market Signals to Event Probabilities Institutional investors have traditionally relied on instruments such as inflation swaps or interest rate futures to infer market expectations. The Tradeweb-Kalshi integration allows clients to monitor market-implied probabilities for specific political, economic, and financial events directly within the platform.“Investors want to trade on real events, not proxies,” said Andy Ross, Head of Institutional at Kalshi. “Integrating prediction market data into one of the world’s leading institutional platforms is an important step toward more accurately pricing the future.” Tradeweb will also add support for Kalshi’s American Power Index, which combines market-implied probabilities across the US presidency, House, and Senate into a single indicator of political and policy risk. The index is designed to give institutional users a consolidated view of political developments that can influence rates, credit, and equity markets. What It Means for Brokers For Tradeweb clients, the practical benefit is workflow integration. Prediction market data can now be monitored alongside other market signals without leaving the platform. “Our clients want access to that signal within the workflows they already use,” said Troy Dixon, Co-head of Global Markets at Tradeweb. The integration also reflects a broader trend of financial market infrastructure providers adding prediction market data alongside traditional market information.The rollout also comes as Kalshi continues to attract institutional backing. The company is reportedly in talks to raise fresh funding at a valuation of around $40 billion, less than two months after completing a $1 billion round at a $22 billion valuation.For brokers and trading platforms, the question increasingly becomes whether prediction market probabilities should be treated as another market data feed available within existing trading workflows. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Prediction markets continued moving into mainstream financial infrastructure this week, even as the legal battle over who gets to regulate them intensified. The CFTC and several U.S. states escalated their fight over event contracts, Cboe introduced a regulated binary options product with a familiar prediction market payoff, and Polymarket expanded its football portfolio with the Bundesliga.Here’s what mattered this week. The State Fight EscalatesThe legal battle over prediction markets widened again this week, with new lawsuits filed from both sides. Kentucky sued Kalshi and Polymarket, accusing the platforms of operating illegal sportsbooks under state law. At the same time, Kalshi asked a federal court to block Illinois from enforcing a new licensing and tax regime that the company says conflicts with the Commodity Exchange Act. The dispute quickly expanded beyond the platforms. In response to Kentucky’s enforcement actions, the CFTC filed its own lawsuit against the state, arguing that Kentucky is attempting to interfere with federally regulated exchanges and undermine the agency’s exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts..@CFTC Sues Kentucky to Prevent Violation of CFTC’s Exclusive Jurisdiction: https://t.co/7XZ57xPil2— CFTC (@CFTC) June 23, 2026 The cases are part of a broader campaign that now spans multiple states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, and Wisconsin. The question before the courts remains the same: where does state gambling law end, and where does federal derivatives regulation begin? The legal fight is unfolding alongside the CFTC’s formal rulemaking process. This week, the agency opened public consultation on its proposed prediction markets framework, describing it as a transparent process for determining which event contracts serve the public interest and which should be prohibited. The proposal will remain open for public comment for 90 days.Today, the @CFTC is proposing new data reporting regulations for fully collateralized event contracts. For too long, market participants have relied on a patchwork of swap data reporting no-action letters. Under my leadership, the agency is establishing clear regulations that… https://t.co/9a7ja9rkEO— Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) June 25, 2026Cboe Brings Prediction Markets to Wall Street Cboe has launched Cboe Predicts, introducing binary options on the Mini S&P 500 through the regulated U.S. securities market. The contracts allow traders to take a simple yes-or-no position on where the index will close, using a payoff structure that closely resembles prediction markets. Unlike event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi, however, they are listed as securities, cleared by the Options Clearing Corporation, and traded under the existing options framework. Interactive Brokers already offers the contracts, with Charles Schwab expected to follow in the coming months. The launch marks another route by which prediction-style products are reaching mainstream investors. Rather than competing directly with event contract platforms, Cboe is bringing a similar trading format into an established exchange, regulatory, and brokerage ecosystem.Polymarket Signs the Deal with Bundesliga Polymarket has become the Bundesliga’s official prediction market partner in the United States, securing exclusive rights to launch markets on Germany’s top football league ahead of the 2026–27 season. One key piece, however, remains unresolved. While Polymarket has obtained the league’s branding rights, the official match data needed to power those markets is controlled by Sportradar under a separate agreement that has not yet been announced. That distinction matters because official data determines how quickly markets can update, settle, and expand beyond simple match-winner contracts. Polymarket already has a similar arrangement in place for Serie A through Genius Sports, but the Bundesliga partnership is not yet fully operational. The deal shows that prediction market partnerships increasingly depend on more than sponsorship rights. As the industry matures, access to official data is becoming as important as access to the leagues themselves. Number of the WeekKalshi is reportedly in talks to raise new funding at a valuation of around $40 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would nearly double the $22 billion valuation from its $1 billion round last month. Less than a year ago, Kalshi was valued at about $5 billion. Bottom Line U.S. courts are filling up with prediction market lawsuits, but the industry is not waiting for legal clarity. Kalshi, the CFTC, and several states are fighting over where federal derivatives regulation ends and state gambling law begins. At the same time, Cboe is launching prediction-style products inside the established securities framework, and Polymarket is signing league partnerships that depend on official sports data. The result is a market developing along two tracks at once: legal uncertainty on one side, product launches and commercial partnerships on the other. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

N26 reached its first full year of net profitability in 2025, with revenue climbing past €500 million as the German digital bank leaned on higher deposit income and a larger base of paying customers. The lender posted group net income of €1.6 million for the year, a swing from a €42 million loss in 2024, according to figures the company released today (Thursday).N26 Swings to €1.6 Million ProfitRevenue rose 13% to €501.6 million, while gross profit grew 33% to €350.5 million. N26 attributed the wider gap between the two to lower direct costs and what it called the operating leverage built into its platform, meaning revenue is growing faster than the cost of serving each customer.The result lands during a period of upheaval at the top of the company. Mike Dargan, a former UBS executive, took over as chief executive in April, inheriting a bank that had spent much of the prior year cycling through leadership changes and regulatory friction.Profit Milestone Rests on a Thin MarginThe headline profit is small set against the size of the business. Net income of €1.6 million on €501.6 million in revenue works out to a margin of roughly 0.3%, leaving little cushion. Most of the improvement came from shrinking losses rather than a jump in earnings, with the €43.6 million year-on-year swing driven by cost discipline and rising interest income.The turnaround follows a rough stretch for the company's valuation, which fell sharply from its 2021 peak as fintech funding cooled and regulatory problems mounted.Net interest income, which covers treasury and lending activity, rose 49% to €166.3 million and supplied 47% of gross profit. Much of that rests on deposits, and N26 has been courting balances with instant savings accounts paying up to 4% across European markets.Net fee and commission income increased 21% to €184.2 million, the remaining 53% of gross profit, helped by subscription growth and card spending. Revenue-relevant customers, the subset N26 counts as generating income, grew 16% to 5.6 million. Annual transaction volume rose 14% to €170.7 billion, and customer deposits topped €10.5 billion.Source: N26 management reporting frameworkTwo Accounting Frameworks, Two Sets of NumbersThursday's figures come from a press release, not a full audited report, which N26 has yet to publish. The numbers the company put front and center follow its own management reporting framework, which it says aligns with IFRS principles.Its audited statutory accounts, prepared under German banking rules known as RechKredV, tell a different story on the components. On that basis, N26 reported €191.3 million in net interest income and €176.9 million in net fee and commission income, both diverging from the management figures. Gross revenue under RechKredV came to €498.1 million, just shy of the €501.6 million the company led with.Group net income is identical under both frameworks, the company said. Asked when the complete accounts would appear, N26 told Finance Magnates it would publish the audited statements "in line with the applicable statutory filing deadlines" and make them available through official registers.Revolut and Bunq Set the Profitability BarN26's milestone arrives years after some European rivals crossed the same line, and on a far smaller scale. Revolut, the region's largest neobank, reported pretax profit of £1.7 billion for 2025 and net profit of £1.3 billion, its fifth straight profitable year, with a customer base above 68 million.The Dutch challenger bunq has been in the black since 2023 and reached 20 million users in 2025, reporting 65% profit growth in its most recent results. Both leaned on high interest rates to earn yield on customer deposits, the same lever that lifted N26's interest income.Where N26 stands apart is its starting point. The bank spent years under a BaFin-imposed cap that limited it to 50,000 new customers a month, a restriction tied to anti-money-laundering failures that also drew a €9.2 million fine. That ceiling held back the customer growth rivals used to scale, and lifted only shortly before fresh regulatory problems surfaced.Regulators Still Watching CloselyProfitability has not closed the book on N26's regulatory troubles. In 2025, BaFin imposed fresh restrictions after an audit flagged weaknesses in internal controls, ordering the bank to hold extra capital, installing a special monitor for the second time since 2021, and barring new mortgage lending in the Netherlands.The supervisory pressure came alongside a boardroom reshuffle. Co-founder Valentin Stalf stepped down as co-chief executive in 2025 after disputes between the founders and investors, clearing the path for Dargan's arrival.N26 has been widening its product range to lift income per customer, adding stock and ETF trading and rolling out savings products across Europe. The company said it plans to keep investing in banking, savings and investment offerings while expanding its use of artificial intelligence in customer service and internal operations.Momentum Carries Into 2026Early 2026 figures point to a stronger run. On a preliminary basis, N26 said it generated net income of €9.8 million in the first quarter, on revenue of €130 million and gross profit of €92 million, already well above the full-year 2025 profit.Dargan said the financial position gives the bank room "to reinvest heavily" in new products. Chief Financial Officer Arnd Schwierholz said N26 would keep "delivering sustainable growth while continuing to invest in products, technology" and resilience.N26 operates in 24 markets on a German banking license with a team of about 1,600. Whether it can turn a slim first profit into something more durable will hinge on keeping costs down while regulators keep watching. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Retail investors now view China as slightly better positioned than the United States to lead the global artificial intelligence race, according to a new survey by trading platform eToro.The latest Retail Investor Beat survey, based on responses from 11,000 retail investors across 13 countries, found that 47% selected China as the country best positioned to lead the AI race, compared with 46% for the United States.Retail Investors See China Challenging USThe findings mark a shift in investor sentiment, suggesting that AI is increasingly viewed as a global competition for technological and economic leadership rather than a theme driven mainly by US technology stocks.Lale Akoner, eToro's Global Market Strategist, said investors continue to focus on major US technology and chip companies, including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon. However, she said investors also recognize China's AI ecosystem, including Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, as well as its strengths in cloud infrastructure and manufacturing.The global figure masked regional differences. In nine of the 13 surveyed countries—including the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Australia—more investors chose China than the United States.Investors Broaden AI Bets Beyond ChipsThe United States was the main exception. Among US respondents, 63% said the US was best positioned to lead the AI race, while 41% selected China.The survey also showed a growing interest in China as a long-term investment destination. Since the fourth quarter of 2024, the share of investors who believe China will generate the strongest long-term stock market returns has risen from 24% to 29%, while the figure for the United States has fallen from 45% to 35%.Exposure to Chinese equities also increased, with the proportion of investors holding Chinese stocks rising from 7% in Q2 2024 to 12% in Q2 2026.At the same time, optimism toward AI-related stocks moderated. The share of investors expecting AI stocks to rise fell from 55% to 44% over the past year, while those expecting declines increased from 11% to 17%.When asked which AI segment is most likely to generate the strongest returns over the next five years, 31% selected large technology platforms, 29% chose AI-focused companies and 28% favored semiconductor firms. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Polymarket has secured Bundesliga branding rights in the US, but the official data agreement behind the partnership remains open, which will directly affect the depth of markets at launch. Polymarket has signed the Bundesliga as its official prediction market partner in the US, the platform announced on June 22. Starting in August, users will be able to trade event contracts on match outcomes when the 2026-27 season kicks off. The deal was brokered by Relevent, which has held Bundesliga's commercial rights across 35 markets in the Americas since 2024 under a long-term agreement. This is the first sponsorship contract Relevent has closed for the league in the prediction market category in the US. Polymarket receives exclusive rights to use Bundesliga and club intellectual property in a listed prediction market format, meaning no competitor can enter the same category with the same league.We're honored to be named the Exclusive Prediction Market Partner of Bundesliga in the USA. The official event contracts for Bundesliga & their clubs now live exclusively on Polymarket. pic.twitter.com/WnsQtJ7sAD— Polymarket (@Polymarket) June 22, 2026The Data Question Sportradar, the Bundesliga's official data partner for wagering, streaming, and statistics, retains exclusive data distribution rights. Any provision of official league data to Polymarket is subject to a separate commercial agreement — one that has not been announced. In Polymarket's Serie A partnership, official data flows through Genius Sports and that arrangement is already in place. In the Bundesliga deal, that piece is still open. A partnership built on brand rights alone is a different product from one with an integrated official data layer. The depth of prediction markets - how many contracts can be listed, how quickly they settle, how accurately they reflect live match dynamics - depends directly on the underlying data feed.What It Means in Practice The Bundesliga deal extends a pattern Polymarket has been building across European and Latin American football. With LaLiga North America, Serie A USA, and LIGA MX already signed, the Bundesliga becomes the fourth major football league in the portfolio alongside MLB, NHL, UFC, MLS, and a content distribution agreement with OneFootball. Each agreement includes exclusive rights in the prediction market category for the US. Kalshi, the closest US competitor, has taken a different approach, building sports volume across a broader range of markets rather than targeting football leagues specifically. According to Pew Research data, roughly 80% of Kalshi's trading volume since July 2024 has come from sports, but the company has not announced a comparable football league portfolio. Polymarket US operates as a CFTC-regulated designated contract market under the Commodity Exchange Act, which gives leagues a cleaner regulatory rationale for the partnership than traditional sportsbook deals would offer. Whether a data agreement with Sportradar closes before the August season opener will indicate how fully operational this partnership is from day one. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

World Cup sponsorships for predictions markets ADI Predictstreet and Fanatics Markets coincide with noticeable increases in Google search interest for both brands around the 2026 FIFA tournament window. The trend reflects how official partnerships with FIFA can quickly raise the profile of relatively new prediction market operators as fans look for information about the products attached to the competition.When the World Cup kicked off on June 11, ADI Predictstreet’s Interest Over Time metric stood at 39. It rose steadily and reached its peak value of 100 on June 14, coinciding with the Netherlands–Japan match that finished 2–2.FIFA Appoints ADI Predictstreet, Fanatics Secures US HubIn April 2026, FIFA named ADI Predictstreet its first official prediction market partner under a multi‑year agreement covering this year’s World Cup. The partnership positions ADI Predictstreet as the global provider of prediction markets on match outcomes, tournament progression and player‑related events on a regulated, on‑chain platform.Prediction markets are beginning to reshape how football fans engage with the sport, while also raising questions about how regulators classify them. As matches like the just concluded An unfold during the FIFA World Cup 2026, some fans are not just watching but also putting money behind their predictions.Keep reading: The World Cup, Market Winners and the Underdog Problem According to CEO Dimitrios Psarrakis, users who take positions that match verified outcomes can receive financial returns based on the rules of each market. While this model resembles traditional sports betting, where users wager on outcomes for potential profit, prediction market operators argue that their structure differs. Specifically, they emphasize that outcomes are traded in a market-style system rather than offered as fixed bets through a sportsbook.In late May, Fanatics Markets secured the rights to operate the official World Cup prediction markets in the United States through a co‑branded hub with ADI Predictstreet ahead of the 11 June kick‑off.Under this structure, ADI Predictstreet holds the global rights relationship with FIFA, while Fanatics Markets acts as the U.S. entry point. The co‑branded hub packages World Cup prediction markets alongside tournament statistics, schedules and related content for U.S. users. The deals form part of FIFA’s wider commercial strategy to integrate more interactive digital products into its sponsorship portfolio.When the World Cup kicked off on June 11, Fanatics Markets’ Interest Over Time metric stood at 28, then climbed to a peak of 100 on June 17, coinciding with Argentina’s 3–0 victory over Algeria.Google Trends Shows Impact Around Tournament WindowFor ADI Predictstreet, search interest appears limited before FIFA’s April announcement, then increases after the partnership becomes public and rises again as the World Cup begins. The pattern suggests that fans and industry participants search for more information once the brand links with the tournament.Continue reading: Bulls, Bears and the Beautiful Game: Does the World Cup Actually Kill the Market?Fanatics Markets shows a search‑interest curve that reflects its U.S. focus. Search activity increases after the late‑May launch of the co‑branded World Cup hub and climbs further as marketing campaigns and in‑app prompts roll out in the run‑up to 11 June. The relative jumps in search demand, including periods where interest roughly doubles from late May to mid‑June, indicate that the World Cup branding and access rights act as a discovery channel for the prediction market service.The developments provide an early example of how major sports events can influence awareness for prediction market operators through official sponsorships. They also highlight how rights holders and digital platforms combine to test new interactive products around global tournaments. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

eToro has announced an integration with Singpass, allowing users in Singapore to register and verify their accounts using the national digital identity system.In July 2025, eToro expanded into Singapore after activating its Capital Markets Services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The licence allows the company to offer regulated capital markets services to retail investors in Singapore. This includes access to stocks listed on more than 20 global exchanges, exchange-traded funds, and derivatives products.eToro Uses Singpass for VerificationThe company said the integration is aimed at simplifying onboarding for new users. Instead of uploading physical identity documents, users can verify their identity through Singpass, with personal information retrieved directly with user consent.Singpass is Singapore’s national digital identity system used for access to government and private services. It is widely used by residents for secure online authentication.Authentication Unlocks Trading Platform AccessUnder the process, users start registration on the platform and select the option to continue with Singpass. They then authenticate using the Singpass app or credentials. After authentication, personal details are transferred securely for account setup.Once verified, users gain access to trading products on the platform, including stocks, commodities, currencies and other instruments.eToro Reviews Deals, Payments and Banking Expansion PlansFollowing these operational updates in Singapore, eToro is also pursuing broader corporate strategies. Following its public listing last year, it is exploring multiple acquisition opportunities in the wealth-tech sector, according to its co-founder and chief executive Yoni Assia. The company is in discussions with two firms, including one in the United States, while working with investment bankers on potential transactions. It confirmed that several deals are under consideration, although details remain limited as discussions are at an early stage. Assia also said the company is reviewing options including expansion into payments and possible future interest in banking licences. This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Prediction markets spent the week facing a familiar mix of growth and resistance. A dispute over Polymarket’s Iran market reignited questions about how event contracts should be settled. A coalition of 56 organizations asked Congress to curb the industry’s expansion. At the same time, Canada moved in the opposite direction, preparing to open prediction markets to retail investors through a regulated financial platform. Polymarket’s Settlement Problem Returns Polymarket’s Iran peace-deal market has turned into another dispute over how the platform resolves ambiguous real-world events. The contracts tied to a US-Iran peace deal have processed more than $345 million in volume, but traders remain split over whether the announced agreement meets the market’s requirement for a “permanent peace deal.” The dispute now turns on contract wording, official statements, and whether a temporary arrangement can qualify as a lasting end to hostilities. This is not Polymarket’s first resolution fight. Other high-profile disputes included Ukraine’s proposed Trump mineral deal, where traders argued over whether indirect signals could satisfy a contract that pointed to official confirmation, and Venezuela’s 2024 election market, where UMA voters resolved the outcome against the official result after relying on alternative reporting. That is a recurring weakness for prediction markets covering geopolitics, regulation and public policy. They can aggregate expectations quickly, but settlement becomes harder when the outcome depends on interpretation rather than a clearly verifiable event. A 56-Group Coalition Wants Congress to Stop Prediction Markets Opposition to prediction markets is becoming more organized. This week, a coalition of 56 organizations sent a letter to U.S. senators urging them to use pending crypto legislation to explicitly prohibit event contracts tied to sports and casino-style gambling. The signatories include gaming industry groups, tribal gaming associations, labor unions, and chambers of commerce — an unusual alliance united by concerns over the rapid expansion of prediction markets.We commend the filing of an amicus brief by a biparisan coalition of 40 state AGs supporting Ohio and Tennesse's right to defend their states’ authority and protect consumers from "prediction markets" offering sports betting.https://t.co/YKZXtKILe6— American Gaming Association (@AmericanGaming) June 18, 2026 The groups argue that prediction market platforms are effectively creating a nationwide sports betting market under a financial-services framework, bypassing state and tribal gambling systems. They also contend that the CFTC lacks the expertise and infrastructure needed to oversee what they view as gambling activity. The letter marks an escalation from criticism by individual companies or trade associations. Opponents are now attempting to influence federal legislation, reflecting a broader effort to challenge the CFTC’s authority over event contracts and prevent prediction markets from expanding further under the derivatives framework Wealthsimple Brings Prediction Markets to Canada Canada’s Wealthsimple is preparing to launch prediction markets through a partnership with Kalshi, becoming one of the first financial firms to offer event contracts to Canadian investors.Coming this summer: Wealthsimple Predict, our new prediction markets app for trading outcomes on real-world events. Sign up to be notified when it's available to download.https://t.co/r7fD9jxjrP— Wealthsimple (@Wealthsimple) June 18, 2026The company received regulatory approval earlier this year and plans to offer markets tied to economic indicators, financial markets, and climate data. The launch comes as regulators in other countries move in the opposite direction. In recent weeks, Spain, India, and Indonesia have joined a growing list of jurisdictions seeking to restrict access to Kalshi and Polymarket. Those restrictions have proven difficult to enforce. Indian authorities recently acknowledged that users were still accessing blocked platforms through virtual private networks, while cryptocurrencies make it easier to move funds outside traditional financial channels. The contrast highlights the uneven global response to prediction markets. Some regulators are trying to keep them out. Others are beginning to integrate them into regulated financial infrastructure.Number of the Week Kalshi crossed $100 billion in lifetime notional volume as World Cup markets pushed prediction market activity to new highs. The platform also recorded $6.38 billion in weekly notional volume for the week ending June 14, up from $4.46 billion a week earlier. Sports contracts are now the clearest driver of the sector’s current growth. Bottom Line This week highlighted three challenges prediction markets continue to face as they grow. The first is settlement. Markets can aggregate expectations efficiently, but disputed outcomes remain difficult to resolve when contracts depend on interpretation rather than clearly verifiable events. The second is political opposition. The coalition letter shows that resistance to prediction markets is becoming more coordinated and increasingly focused on federal legislation. The third is regulation itself. While some governments are trying to restrict access, others are beginning to integrate prediction markets into regulated financial infrastructure. At the same time, Kalshi crossed $100 billion in lifetime volume. Whatever direction regulators ultimately take, the market is already operating at a scale. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Kalshi has integrated with StarCompliance, giving financial firms a way to monitor employee trading in prediction markets alongside activity in equities, bonds and derivatives. The move addresses a practical problem that has slowed institutional participation in event contracts. Many firms may be interested in using Kalshi markets for hedging or risk management, but their compliance teams need visibility into employee accounts before allowing access. “We’re obsessed with compliance,” Max Crowley, Vice President of Business Development at Kalshi, told Barron’s. According to Crowley, the integration followed direct demand from a major New York hedge fund that wanted to hedge risk on Kalshi but could not do so because the platform was not connected to StarCompliance.EXCLUSIVE: Kalshi is partnering with StarCompliance for an integration that allows employers to see employee prediction market trades in real-time.StarCompliance is a go-to provider for financial firms looking to monitor employee trading in equities and derivatives markets, and… pic.twitter.com/b3UaXGRKa8— Nick Devor (@nickdevor_) June 17, 2026Closing the Shadow Account GapPrediction markets have created a difficult problem for compliance officers. Firms can usually monitor employee trading in listed equities, fixed income and traditional derivatives. Event contracts, however, have often sat outside that monitoring framework, creating a potential blind spot for material non-public information. The Kalshi-StarCompliance integration allows employee Kalshi accounts to be linked directly to a firm’s compliance system. The software can flag suspicious activity or policy violations in real time, giving compliance teams the same type of oversight they expect in established asset classes. Many event contracts are tied to information-sensitive events. A yes-or-no contract on a Fed rate decision, an acquisition outcome or a company-specific event may not look like a stock trade, but for a compliance desk the risk can be similar. Kalshi’s Broader Compliance Push The StarCompliance deal follows another step by Kalshi to tighten controls around higher-risk markets. Last week, the platform began collecting employment information from traders seeking access to certain contracts. The aim is to identify potential insiders before they trade. If, for example, an employee of a technology company tries to trade on a contract tied to that company’s IPO timing, Kalshi wants to catch that risk at the front end rather than rely only on after-the-fact enforcement. Prediction markets have often been discussed in terms of liquidity, user growth and regulatory battles. Kalshi is now making compliance infrastructure part of the product. What it Means for Brokers The integration signals that prediction markets are moving into the scope of formal institutional policy. Platforms that want financial firms as clients will need to support the compliance workflows those firms already use. Institutional adoption depends on more than liquidity. It also depends on account monitoring, audit trails, employee-trading controls and integration with internal compliance systems. For financial firms, the practical change is simple: employee trading on Kalshi can now be monitored through the same compliance systems already used for equities, bonds, and derivatives. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Kalshi’s crypto perpetual futures generated more than $5.5 billion in trading volume in their first two weeks. The company said it was the fastest-growing product launch in its history.The debut suggests Kalshi’s ambitions now extend beyond prediction markets. While the company built its business around politics, sports, and event contracts, it is now pushing into a much larger derivatives market through its CFTC-regulated exchange. Perpetual futures, or perps, are leveraged derivatives with no expiry date. Until recently, they were mostly associated with offshore crypto exchanges. Kalshi is now trying to bring that product structure into a regulated US venue.“It’s been our fastest-growing launch in terms of adoption and customers,” Kalshi co-founder Tarek Mansour said at the Bloomberg Market Structure Conference. He added that the company is already speaking with regulators about applying the perpetuals model to asset classes beyond crypto. Kalshi processed roughly $5.7 billion in total trading volume last week, boosted by World Cup activity. Against that backdrop, a new product generating $5.5 billion in its first two weeks stands out even during a period of record platform activity. Beyond Prediction Markets For most of its history, Kalshi’s growth story was tied to event contracts. Perpetual futures give the company access to a market that generated an estimated $61.7 trillion in global trading volume in 2025. The move also fits Kalshi’s broader effort to position itself within the regulated derivatives industry rather than the gambling sector. Expanding into products already familiar to futures and crypto traders supports that strategy.The next generation exchange. pic.twitter.com/Ckr0YoWAGd— Kalshi (@Kalshi) June 17, 2026Kalshi is not alone. Coinbase and Kraken have both expanded beyond their original crypto focus by adding stocks, prediction markets, and other products to become multi-asset platforms.Kalshi’s expansion has already drawn resistance from incumbent exchanges. CME Group CEO Terry Duffy has raised concerns about the risk profile of the contracts and said CME will sue the CFTC over its approval of Kalshi’s perps, calling the process legally flawed and rushed.Mansour framed the reaction as a response to new competition. “You have incumbent participants that have a status quo that’s working, and there’s competition now,” he said.You may also like: Perps vs CFDs and Futures - What Brokers Need to Know Before Adding Crypto’s Hottest DerivativeWhat Does it Mean for BrokersKalshi’s trajectory offers a case study in how quickly product categories are expanding.The company is building a multi-product derivatives business under a single regulatory framework. Event contracts remain its core business, but perpetual futures provide access to a much larger pool of trading volume and a user base already familiar with leveraged crypto products. Perpetual futures give Kalshi access to a market far larger than prediction contracts alone. After generating $5.5 billion in two weeks, the product is already becoming a meaningful part of the company’s growth story. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Australia's corporate watchdog is taking HSBC to the Federal Court over a prolonged failure to protect customers from scammers, in what could become a defining case for how banks globally are held accountable for scam-related losses.ASIC and HSBC will jointly ask the Federal Court to find HSBC contravened the law and impose a proposed penalty of AU$35 million (approximately US$24.6 million). The settlement remains subject to court approval, though the proceedings have already drawn attention after a judge questioned in court whether the proposed penalty was high enough.Years of Warnings, Years of InactionThe facts admitted by HSBC paint a picture of a bank that knew it had a problem and moved too slowly to fix it. HSBC acknowledged it was aware from May 2021 of the growing threat posed by impersonation scams, where fraudsters posed as HSBC representatives, yet between May 2023 and May 2024 it failed to maintain adequate controls over its internal transfer system, exposing customers to a greater risk of unauthorised payments.Reports of unauthorised transactions surged approximately 380% in 2023 and 2024, largely driven by those impersonation scams. Between January 2020 and August 2024, HSBC received more than 1,000 reports of unauthorised transactions totalling AU$34.6 million. The failures were not limited to fraud detection. ASIC found HSBC breached its financial services licence obligations through major delays in investigating scam reports, taking an average of 144 days to resolve cases, and failed to provide adequate systems for customers locked out of their accounts following a scam incident. Finance Magnates had previously reported on the original ASIC lawsuit filed in December 2024, in which the regulator claimed one customer waited 542 days for full account access to be reinstated.[#highlighted-links#] Life Savings Gone, Answers Months AwayThe human toll outlined in ASIC's filing is considerable. Among those affected were a 51-year-old dental technician from NSW who lost AU$47,000, almost all her savings; a 25-year-old architectural assistant who lost AU$50,000, his entire life savings; a Victorian couple in their 50s who lost AU$48,000 transferred from their home loan; and a 41-year-old Victorian father who lost AU$50,000.Some customers reported having to borrow money from elsewhere, take on extra work shifts, or fear they would struggle to meet home loan repayments. Others described distress, guilt, and panic from being unable to access their accounts. ASIC Chair Sarah Court was direct: customers were left "tens of millions of dollars out of pocket and waiting months to find out what had happened to their money."HSBC has since established a remediation programme, paying approximately AU$21.5 million in compensation with further payments to come, and recovering and returning an additional AU$6.5 million to affected customers. Part of a Much Bigger ASIC CrackdownThe HSBC case is not an isolated enforcement action. In the second half of 2025 alone, ASIC secured a record AU$349.8 million in court-ordered civil penalties, with major cases including ANZ being ordered to pay AU$250 million in combined penalties for widespread misconduct and systemic risk failures, Cbus ordered to pay AU$23.5 million for serious failures processing members' death benefits, RAMS Financial Group ordered to pay AU$20 million for home loan compliance failures, and NAB ordered to pay AU$15.5 million for hardship failures impacting customers.ASIC also took down 6,900 investment scam and phishing websites in the year to June 2025 and filed its first-ever court case alleging that a bank failed to protect customers from scams, namely the original HSBC proceeding, which has now reached a proposed resolution.HSBC itself has faced regulatory heat beyond Australia. In 2024, the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority fined HSBC £57.4 million for serious failings in safeguarding certain customer deposits, while the Financial Conduct Authority imposed a separate £6.28 million fine on HSBC entities for mishandling customers experiencing financial difficulties.For ASIC Chair Court, the message to the sector is unambiguous: "This is one of the first cases of its kind globally and sends a clear message that protecting customers from scams is a core responsibility of banks." With the Federal Court still to sign off on the penalty and a judge already signalling it may want to push higher, the final figure could yet shift. This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Peer-to-peer sports trading platform Novig can now operate as a federally regulated prediction market. The company says the approval process was the fastest for any Designated Contract Market in CFTC history. The designation, granted to its Ludlow Exchange LLC entity, creates a federal route to offer sports-based event contracts without relying on state-by-state sportsbook licensing models. A Different Economics Model Novig is trying to replace the traditional sportsbook model with an exchange model where users trade directly with one another through an order book, with prices set by supply and demand. “The sportsbook era is ending,” Novig’s founder said. “We're building the financial market for sports... high time that sports event contracts are treated as a legitimate asset class.” https://t.co/Mi8lFGLmfd— Jacob Fortinsky (@j__fort) June 16, 2026 The company has already surpassed $5 billion in cumulative trading volume and recently closed a $75 million Series B round led by Pantera Capital. With a federal license in place, Novig can now pursue national scale without applying for separate gaming licenses in every state. Novig is not the only company trying to move sports trading out of state gambling regimes and into the federal derivatives framework. Sporttrade recently said it would shut down its sportsbook operations across five states and focus on becoming a CFTC-regulated DCM and DCO. DraftKings has launched DKeX, its own CFTC-regulated exchange for event contracts. FanDuel, meanwhile, has partnered with CME Group to develop prediction products.Why Brokers Should Pay Attention For multi-asset brokers and infrastructure providers, the shift creates a new category of regulated event trading. A federal DCM model could give platforms access to a national US market, something traditional sportsbooks have struggled to achieve under state gaming rules. If sports contracts are treated as derivatives, the infrastructure changes with them. The opportunity shifts from sportsbook operations to regulated trading, clearing and liquidity provision. The exchange model also changes how operators make money. Instead of earning from a built-in sportsbook margin, they compete for order flow through liquidity, pricing, technology, and market structure. Novig’s approval adds another federally regulated venue to a market that has historically been dominated by sportsbooks. Liquidity is still a challenge. Novig now has a federal route to market, but the exchange model still has to prove it can attract trading activity at scale. This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.

Robinhood has announced plans to cut about 10% of its full-time workforce, affecting roughly 290 employees, as the company restructures its organization to improve efficiency and reduce management layers. The reported strong demand for its prediction markets, with 8.8 billion event contracts traded in the first quarter of 2026.Job Cuts and Restructuring CostsAccording to Reuters, the company said the layoffs form part of a broader effort to flatten its structure and speed up decision-making. CEO Vlad Tenev said the firm wants to avoid operating with multiple layers of management despite strong business performance.Trading platform Robinhood cuts 10% of workforce to flatten management layers https://t.co/wdvMsO7vWy— CNBC (@CNBC) June 16, 2026Robinhood expects to record about $28 million in restructuring costs in the second quarter. These include severance payments, employee benefits, and stock-based compensation. The company will also close a small number of open roles but said it will continue hiring selectively.Keep reading: Robinhood Launches AI Agent Accounts for Automated Trading and PaymentsThe announcement comes as companies across sectors review headcount and organizational structures to improve efficiency. Robinhood’s shares fell about 2.5% in afternoon trading following the news.The company said it is taking these steps while operating from a position of strength. It reported record average daily trading volumes in June across equities, options, and prediction markets.Market Context and Business PerformanceEarlier in the year, Robinhood missed first-quarter profit expectations due to weaker trading activity linked to crypto market volatility. Retail investors typically reduce trading during periods of high volatility. Market conditions have since improved, supported by stronger equity markets and easing geopolitical tensions.Robinhood has also been expanding beyond transaction-based revenues. The company has introduced additional financial services, including retirement accounts, wealth management products, and credit cards, to reduce its dependence on trading activity.Robinhood saw strong growth in its prediction markets business in Q1 2026, with users trading 8.8 billion event contracts during the quarter. Robinhood’s first quarter looked “slow” because the legacy metrics that public market investors focus on weakened even as its new prediction products took off. AI Bets and Big BuybackNet revenue of 1.07 billion dollars was up 15 percent year-on-year but down from 1.28 billion dollars in Q4, so growth actually decelerated, and both revenue and EPS landed slightly below analyst expectations.And amid rising adoption of AI technology, Robinhood earlier launched a dedicated accounts that let customers plug in their own AI agents to trade stocks and execute predefined strategies without manually using the app. These AI-only sub-accounts must be funded separately from a user’s main portfolio, and the platform offers real-time activity feeds, profit and loss tracking, and transaction alerts so users can monitor what their agents are doing and turn them off at any time. Additionally, Robinhood announced plans to buy back 1.5 billion dollars’ worth of its own shares after its stock fell nearly 40 percent this year and hit a new low before slightly recovering. This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.