Toronto-based fintech Wealthsimple is jumping into prediction markets, teaming up with U.S. exchange Kalshi to bring the trend up to Canada.
The company announced Wealthsimple Predict, a new standalone app that’ll let Canadians trade event contracts on Kalshi once it launches this summer. Users will get access to roughly 4,000 contracts, though only in the categories Wealthsimple is actually allowed to offer here, which are climate, financial markets, and economic indicators.
Brett Huneycutt, Wealthsimple’s co-founder and Chief Product Officer, said the timing makes sense given how fast this corner of the market is growing.
“Prediction markets are the fastest-growing segment of global financial markets, letting traders turn an opinion into a position on the factors that shape our world – where inflation is headed, what happens to rates, or how the year unfolds. Until now, Canadians have had limited access,” Huneycutt said. “Wealthsimple Predict gives Canadians a clean, well-designed way to access these markets, with education and guardrails built in from day one.”
“Kalshi was founded on a simple belief: views on the future should have markets, and those markets should be available to everyone,” said Kalshi’s Alex Cuoci. “That’s why we’re partnering with Wealthsimple, Canada’s leading financial innovator – to give everyday investors in Canada access to fair, secure, and regulated prediction markets.”
Each contract works like a yes or no bet on a real-world event, like whether inflation rises in Q3. They settle at $1 if the answer turns out to be yes or $0 if it’s no, and the price at any given moment reflects what the market thinks the actual odds are.
Kalshi’s biggest rival in the space is Polymarket, though that platform runs on crypto trades and isn’t regulated in the U.S. So how does Wealthsimple make money here? Every buy or sell transation will see the company take a tiny slice of fees as it flows through to Kalshi.
Wealthsimple got the green light from CIRO back in March to offer these contracts, making it the second investment dealer in Canada with that approval. New users will need to complete a standard ‘know your client’ process before trading, and the app will only be available to Canadian residents.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
