Blockchain.com launches SnapMarkets as prediction markets move into faster crypto bets

The launch occurs as prediction markets surge, facing regulatory conflicts between the pro-market CFTC and challenging state gambling authorities.

What to know:

• Blockchain.com announced the launch of SnapMarkets on Wednesday, a platform for rapid-fire BTC price bets resolving every 30 seconds, with stakes starting at $1.
• SnapMarkets, which the company calls a skill-based market, is similar to binary options, which are banned for retail users in the EU and UK.
• The launch occurs as prediction markets surge, facing regulatory conflicts between the pro-market CFTC and challenging state gambling authorities.

Blockchain.com, a crypto wallet and exchange founded in 2011, announced the launch of SnapMarkets, a platform that lets users wager on whether bitcoin’s price will rise or fall in 30-second windows, on Wednesday.

Stakes start at $1 in what the company calls a skill-based version of prediction markets. The launch comes as prediction markets surge, with market leaders Polymarket and Kalshi seeing a combined notional trading volume close to $24 billion in April.

The market as a whole saw $29 billion in volume that month, Dune data shows. That includes event markets across categories such as sports, politics and finance.

SnapMarkets has a different offering for now. Instead of contracts tied to election results, sports outcomes or macroeconomic events, the app offers rapid-fire BTC price calls that resolve every 30 seconds. A Blockchain.com spokesperson told CoinDesk additional market formats are planned.

The format makes SnapMarkets closer to short-term trading than traditional event forecasting. Users pick a direction, choose a stake and wait for the round to settle. Over such short windows, BTC price moves can be difficult to forecast consistently.

Prediction markets’ regulatory backdrop

Prediction markets spent years fighting the CFTC, including Kalshi’s court battle over election contracts and Polymarket’s 2022 settlement with the agency. But the U.S. posture has changed over the past year.

The CFTC dropped its appeal in the Kalshi election-contract case in May 2025, and the agency has since turned into a former foe now giving prediction markets more tailored guidance.

That shift has opened a new fight between federal and state regulators. State gambling authorities have challenged platforms including Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com, Polymarket and Coinbase, while the CFTC has moved to defend its authority over event-contract markets.

CFTC Chair Mike Selig rebuked state efforts to block prediction markets, and in April the agency sued Wisconsin as part of a broader campaign to defend its jurisdiction.

Still, yes-or-no financial products have faced stricter treatment.

A Blockchain.com spokesperson said the company does “not see SnapMarkets as comparable to binary options,” describing the product as a “simple, transparent” way to engage with short-term crypto price movements, “not as traditional derivatives products.”

The European Union’s ESMA prohibited binary options and restricted contracts for difference for retail investors in 2018. The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority permanently banned binary options for retail users in 2019. In the U.S., retail binary options can only be offered through CFTC-regulated venues.

The CFTC has applied similar scrutiny to crypto-native event markets before. In January 2022, it fined Polymarket $1.4 million and ordered it to wind down U.S. markets, classifying its event contracts as unregistered binary options.

Polymarket later acquired a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse for $112 million, creating a regulated path back into the U.S. SnapMarkets is not available to users in the U.S. or U.K.

SnapMarkets also includes live chat, a real-time price feed, streak tracking and a global leaderboard. Users can connect a Blockchain.com wallet or another DeFi wallet. New users get a non-custodial wallet by default.

The launch fits a broader push by crypto firms into prediction-style products. Robinhood Predictions, Crypto.com’s OG.com and Kalshi have all leaned into the category over the past year. SnapMarkets pushes that trend into faster territory.

More For You

Executives from Ondo, Robinhood and Babylon Labs said at Consensus Miami 2026 that banks and traditional finance firms are embracing crypto infrastructure, though institutional adoption remains constrained.

What to know:

• Consensus Miami 2026 panelists from Ondo, Robinhood and Babylon Labs said that Wall Street firms are actively integrating crypto infrastructure, tokenized assets and stablecoin-based products.
• Executives argued that tokenized treasuries and 24/7 markets already offer clear advantages over traditional financial systems.
• Institutional adoption will likely develop along two parallel tracks:...

Colombia wants to mine bitcoin with surplus renewable energy

4 minutes ago

Zcash bets turn into second-largest liquidations behind bitcoin as ZEC rockets 30%

7 minutes ago

Morgan Stanley brings crypto trading with lower fees than rivals

21 minutes ago

Bullish’s Equiniti deal could remake it into a tokenization powerhouse, Clear Street says

43 minutes ago

DeFi's stress test ends quietly. Nothing broke.

1 hour ago

From 'what' to 'how': Robinhood and Bitstamp say banks are ready to build on-chain

1 hour ago

Bitcoin moves above $82,000 while ZEC and DASH post double-digit rallies

2 hours ago

Crypto derivatives have converged with Wall Street. Equity perps could soon prove it.

5 hours ago

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says Clarity better than chaos as Senate hits key moment

20 hours ago

Michael Saylor's Strategy signals potential bitcoin sale to fund dividends obligations

13 hours ago

Figure targets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in mortgage push, citing massive cost cuts for borrowers

19 hours ago

Coinbase cuts 14% of staff as AI reshapes how crypto companies operate

May 5, 2026