What is Crypto.com prediction trading and how does it work?

Crypto.com Predict, a feature on crypto.com/us, allows you to trade on the outcomes of global events that have a definitive YES or NO answer.

You can make a financial side-bet, with a value up to $0.99/$9.99 predicting the positive or negative trajectory of events like sports, politics, economics, or culture.

While similar to traditional sportsbooks, where you can also bet on sports, or the Oscars, or some Politics, Crypto.com comes with notable differentiators.

• On Crypto.com, a standard YES or NO contract has a value between $0.01 and $0.99. This price represents the active traders’ perceived win probability.

For example, a YES valued at $0.60, means a 60% perceived chance of the event actually happening.

• If you’re right, your trading contract settles at $1.00, and the bet above awards you a $0.40 profit. If you’re wrong, it goes to $0.00 and you don’t win anything. The more trading contracts you buy on the same event, the more you multiply your wins/losses.

Unlike standard bookies where you bet against the house and must wait for the main event to end, on Crypto.com, you trade against other players and you can win or lose even before the event starts.

At a traditional sportsbook you also have cash outs, where the same house dictates the price. But Crypto.com comes with added control.

For example, let’s say you have 80 days to predict the winner of the 2026 Champions League. You decide to buy contracts for Bayern Munich, which currently has a 16% chance of winning, compared to Arsenal’s 29%. If Bayern Munich wins the next matches in the next 10 days let’s say, its probability might increase from 16% to 20%. You can then sell your contracts for a 4% profit before the championship even concludes, simply by working with the changing margin.

Similar to bookies however, Crypto.com introduced Combos. Here, you can combine multiple YES picks across different games to multiply your potential payout.

If you are buying in bulk and for easier management, Crypto.com also allows you to purchase $10 contracts. You will learn later in the article that the transaction fees are slightly different between the two, as here a YES can cost up to $9.99.

Pros

• 1% technical fee waver for settled wins

• Price slippage protection

• Low-latency feed for fast market exists

Cons

• Only ACH and bank withdrawals are fee-free

• Complicated trading fees system

• Fewer sports options than other prediction markets

Crypto.com app review: prediction trading on the go

If you have already been using the Crypto.com app for exchanges, stocks or the VISA loyalty scheme, then know that Predictions is now a tab in the same ecosystem. This also means that you have a full wallet integration to fund all and any of your assets in trading, if you so choose.

You don’t need to create a new account to start buying or selling contracts via the iOS or Android app.

But if you want to try prediction trading at Crypto.com for the first time, you’ll discover a user-friendly app with a professional feel, where everything from SSN verification to the final settlement of your contract is handled smoothly.

Signing up on Crypto.com also comes with a special welcome bonus of up to 1 BTC worth of CRO rewards. CRO rewards are offered for completing 1 simple mission on the app.

As you first start on prediction markets, you will need to follow a few prompts that ask you to set up your USD Derivatives account and accept the required terms and conditions.

During testing, the app did not give the feeling of a cluttered web interface in a smaller screen. You can switch between the crypto derivatives exchange and prediction trading seamlessly from the menu located at the bottom of the screen. Navigating between tabs felt fast, with trading markets categorized visibly at the top of the screen.

The app also has an integrated Smart Insight tab, a resource added to the Accounts tab which is meant to help you with personalized ideas on how to better manage your portfolio.

Different prediction markets available at Crypto.com

Because it is a federally regulated financial exchange platform, Crypto.com can offer trading markets that traditional sportsbetting sites cannot legally touch. It divides its trading categories into:

1. Sports 
2. Politics
3. Economics 
4. Finance
5. Culture
6. Climate
7. Crypto
8. Companies

In the sports category, you will find seven markets including basketball, soccer, fighting or motorsports. 

Headlines are divided between Schedule and Futures, with the latter having the clear advantage that contracts can be monitored and manipulated for a longer period of time.

When it comes to politics, economics, crypto or culture, traditional betting sites generally cannot offer wagering options in the US, which leaves a massive gap in the market that Crypto.com fills.

So on Crypto.com prediction markets, you can trade on major global political shifts or if the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, or even on the company with the best AI model by the end of June.

On the Culture market, you can trade on who will win at the Oscars or Grammys, whether a specific movie will hit a certain Box Office milestone, or even release dates for highly anticipated video games and music albums.

How to trade on Crypto.com

Crypto.com allows you to place two types of contracts: 1$ contracts (you can trade with values from $0.01 to $0.99) or $10 (you can trade with values from $0.01 to $9.99).

Here is how to trade and manage your order:

1. 1. Select your market: Navigate to the Predict tab in the main menu, browse or search for an event, and choose YES or NO based on your prediction.
2. Input your quantity: Enter the number of contracts you want to buy. The app will immediately display an estimated total, which includes the current contract price multiplied by your quantity, plus the exchange fee.
3. Account for slippage and place the order: Because live market prices can fluctuate in milliseconds, the platform includes a $0.05 slippage tolerance by default. When you submit the trade, a temporary hold is placed on your account for the estimated total, plus this slippage buffer to cover potential price jumps.
4. Order execution: Once the order officially executes on the exchange, you are only charged the actual filled price plus exchange fees. 
5. Manage your position: Once your position is live, you are in control. If you want to withdraw in early profits or cut your losses, you can exit the trade by clicking Close on your open position at any time before the event concludes.
6. Wait until settlement: If your prediction is correct at expiration, each contract settles for a guaranteed payout of $1 or $10 (depending on the contract tier). If you are wrong, the contract expires at $0.

How does prediction trading on Crypto.com look in numbers? 

Let’s say I want to predict that the Kansas City Chiefs will win their next game, and decide to buy 10 YES contracts (using the $1 contract payout tier).

• The quote: The YES contract is currently trading at $0.19, with a standard exchange fee of $0.02 per contract.
• The estimated total: 10 contracts × ($0.19 price + $0.02 fee) = $2.10.
• The slippage hold: The app applies a $0.05 slippage risk per contract to ensure my order doesn’t fail if the price goes up slightly. 10 contracts × $0.05 = $0.50. The app temporarily holds $2.60 ($2.10 + $0.50) from my account.
• The execution: My order successfully fills at the expected $0.19 price. The app charges me the exact $2.10, and the extra $0.50 slippage hold is immediately released back to my available balance.
• The settlement: If the Chiefs win, my 10 contracts settle at $1.00 each, resulting in a $10.00 payout (a $7.90 net profit). If they lose, the contracts expire at $0, and my total loss is strictly the $2.10 I paid to enter the trade.

What order types does Crypto.com prediction trading support?

On Crypto.com, when you buy YES or NO contracts, you have two options to make the trade: Market Orders (or Quick Orders) or Resting Orders (or Limit Orders).

Market Orders (MO) are the fastest to place, and they are the easiest to cancel.

These are best to choose if you want to quickly trade on breaking news or a live event where the potential outcome can change by the minute.

When you place an MO, you automatically buy contracts at the best available price.

On the downside, MOs are more susceptible to price fluctuations. If quick shifts happen in the split seconds between you hitting the YES/NO button and the exchange taking place, the prices might affect you in a negative way. 

But for that, Crypto.com includes a slipping tolerance you can adjust to match to your risk appetite. It is, by default, set at $0.05. 

Limit Orders allow you to choose your exact price. If a YES contract for a team is currently trading at $0.65, but you refuse to pay more than $0.55, you can place a Limit Order for $0.55.

In this case, your order simply waits (rests) on the order book. It will not execute immediately. It will only fill if the market price drops to your specified $0.55 level. In other words, if another user is willing to sell to you at the exact place you set up.

Passing account verification (KYC): Why they need your SSN

Before you even get to trade, you must complete a full KYC (Know Your Customer) check at registration, by entering your Social Security Number. 

This is a federal regulation requirement meant to protect both you and Crypto.com from risky money-laundering activities or diversion of funds that could be used for criminal activities. 

By complying with this requirement, your funds are also legally protected. You never have to worry about the site being suddenly closed, or your withdrawals being blocked without a resolution.

Now from a tax compliance point of view, because you are trading financial derivatives rather than placing traditional bets, your SSN is used to generate standard tax forms at the end of the year if your trading activity meets the federal reporting threshold.

Crypto.com payment methods

To begin trading, you must have funds in your USD cash account. If you are an existing user trading cryptocurrencies, then you can most easily fund this account by converting cryptocurrencies or CRO rewards directly into USD, all within the app. This is thanks to its wallet bridge between assets.

Other than in-app crypto and CRO funding, you can add money to your Crypto.com account with ACH and Bank transfers, Wire transfers or digital wallets. 

For deposits larger than $1,000, Wire Transfers are an affordable option.  

For digital wallets, you can use ApplePay, Google Pay and PayPal, but note that Crypto.com charges a 1.99% processing fee for these methods, whereas bank transfers are free. 

When it comes to cashing out your winnings, once one of your events settles in your favor, all you need to do is to request an ACH withdrawal to your bank account. They should get to your account in 24 to 72 hours.

At the time of review, Crypto.com did not charge any fees for ACH withdrawals.

Crypto.com fees and payouts: Is it cheaper than the “vig”?

The short answer is yes. It is cheaper to trade on sports on Crypto.com than it is to do it on regular sports books. 

If you have ever bet on a traditional sportsbook, you are familiar with the “vig”. For example, you see a standard point spread odd of -110. This means you have to risk $110 just to win $100. That $10 difference is the hidden fee the bookie takes to guarantee their profit, creating an up to a 10% house edge that you have to overcome just to break even.

Crypto.com handles things a bit differently. Because it is a trade rather than a traditional bookie, there is no hidden “vig” added into the odds. Instead, the platform uses a flat-fee structure.

When you purchase a contract, Crypto.com charges two upfront costs: an exchange fee and a technology fee. 

The exchange fee is charged for being linked with another trader, and the technology fee is charged for using the platform’s feeds or transacting on it.  

For a standard $1.00 contract, the exchange fee is currently at $0.02 and for a $10 contract, it is $0.10. 

As for the technology fee, this is not applicable for $1 contracts, but for $10 contracts you get a $0.10 charge for closing a position before expiry or for opening a position. 

Here’s the breakdown based on the type of contract range you want to trade with.

If the contract settles with an incorrect prediction, no fee is applied. 

Is Crypto.com prediction trading safe? 

Yes, it is. Despite the crypto name which might suggest a lack of US regulation, Crypto.com’s prediction trading platform is entirely legitimate. It operates as a CFTC-regulated financial exchange, meaning it functions under the same US federal laws that govern Wall Street and commodities exchanges.

However, sports predictions on Crypto.com are currently banned in Arizona, Michigan, Maryland, Missouri, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Ohio, because they’re lacking a sports-issued wagering license.

For data protection, the Crypto.com web application utilizes SSL encryption with an ECDSA signature, while the app is enhanced with multi-factor and biometric authentication, as well as a 24-hour withdrawal lock on new addresses.  

For its prepaid Visa cards, there are strict transaction caps, as well as monthly CRO reward caps which are meant to discourage overspending. 

On the investment side, Crypto.com encourages financial discipline via a Recurring Buy feature with minimums you can set up yourself, and Target Price/Limit Orders that lock required funds until execution or cancellation. This should help ensure that capital cannot be double-spent elsewhere in the app. 

For prediction trading, the only limit I could find was on the maximum number of contracts you can have at all times: $2,500,000 for the ones valued at $1.

Crypto.com comparisons

FAQs

Is Crypto.com legal in all US states?

No. Crypto.com is legal in 49 US states, and completely banned in New York.

How do I get the CRO welcome bonus?

Simply sign up using our link and get up to 1 BTC in CRO for completing one mission trading target of $100. these rewards are allocated randomply.

Can I use Crypto.com for sports betting?

Yes, but not if you are located in: Arizona, Michigan, Maryland, Missouri, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Ohio, because it is lacking a sports-issued wagering license.