Robinhood is making strategic moves by routing select FIFA World Cup event contracts through Rothera, its own derivatives exchange co-owned with Susquehanna International Group. This shift allows Robinhood to take greater control over contracts covering match outcomes, tournament winners, and total goals, rather than relying solely on the Kalshi platform. Following the announcement, Robinhood’s shares saw a significant increase of over 6%.
Why is Robinhood establishing its own exchange to handle these contracts? Rothera received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and began self-certifying soccer event contracts as of May 2026. It submitted certification filings for four specific soccer contracts on May 28. Significantly, Rothera recently reported over $2 million in trading volume within a single weekend. Historically, Robinhood managed around 3 billion event contracts each month, which generated approximately $30 million in revenue on a monthly basis.
Robinhood entered the prediction markets arena in early 2025 through a partnership with Kalshi, focusing primarily on contracts related to the NFL and college football. A pivotal moment occurred in November 2025 when Robinhood, in partnership with Susquehanna International Group, acquired a majority stake in the LedgerX exchange, which has since been rebranded as Rothera. Vlad Tenev, the CEO, has highlighted plans for Rothera to launch its services in the second quarter of 2026, emphasizing the advantages of a fully integrated market platform over previous revenue-sharing agreements.
How does the World Cup serve as a stress test for Rothera? The 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, presents an important opportunity for Rothera to demonstrate its capabilities. Not all World Cup contracts will transition to Rothera right away; some will still be handled through the Kalshi exchange as Robinhood evaluates Rothera's performance in a live environment.