For Donald Trump, agreements and bets are sacred. The Truth Social platform, founded by the American president, is preparing to take a new step by allowing its users to bet on the results of elections and sports matches. This initiative, revealed by the Financial Times, marks a new foray by Trump and his family into the burgeoning sector of “prediction markets”, a field where finance, technology and… politics intersect.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), parent company of Truth Social, announced a partnership with Crypto.com to launch a new feature called Truth Predict. It will offer users the ability to “react instantly to the evolution of major current events.”
This merger comes against a backdrop of already strong financial ties between the two entities: Crypto.com donated $11 million to Trump’s cause in the presidential election and TMTG recently signed a multi-million dollar deal to purchase Cronos tokens, issued by the company.
This offensive also occurs when the eldest son of the White House occupant, Donald Trump Jr., is also strengthening his influence in the sector. His investment fund, 1789 Capital, has acquired stakes in Polymarket, a platform that allows users to bet on events, while also acting as an advisor to Kalshi and Polymarket, two leading players in prediction markets, valued at $10 billion and $15 billion.
A recent trend
These companies, whose users bet massively on their father’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, benefit from regulatory easing under the Trump administration: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently dismissed several appeals against them, facilitating their return to the US market.
The overall context is therefore favorable: predictive markets are experiencing spectacular growth, with weekly volumes exceeding $2 billion. But obstacles remain.
Several players in the sector remain immersed in litigation in the United States, particularly on the border between financial betting and games of chance. Crypto.com, a key partner of Truth Social, had to suspend some of its activities in Nevada following a regulatory dispute, a reminder that even in Trumpist America, fully legalizing political betting remains a risky bet.
Source: BFM TV
