Alpaca registers as a CFTC Futures Commission Merchant, prediction markets next

Photo: Jakub Żerdzicki / Unsplash

Alpaca joins the prediction-markets race we've watched tastytrade and Coinbase navigate this summer, starting where any regulated product has to: paperwork.

What happened

Alpaca Derivatives registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the CFTC and became an NFA member. This is the formal regulatory step required before offering CFTC-regulated products like prediction markets, not a product launch itself, the actual prediction-markets offering isn't live yet.

Why it's still worth noting

Coming so soon after Alpaca's $135 million raise and its tokenized-governance partnership with Broadridge, this registration confirms prediction markets are a real product direction for Alpaca, not speculation. It also means Alpaca will face the same jurisdictional questions Coinbase is currently fighting in Michigan once it actually launches.

Why this matters if you use Cresori

Alpaca is one of the brokers Cresori connects to directly. Nothing changes today, prediction markets aren't live yet, but this is the clearest signal so far that they're coming, worth watching for when Cresori might need to handle event-contract positions in an Alpaca account the way it will for tastytrade's.

Sources: BusinessWire, August 6.