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Schwab picks S&P 500
Charles Schwab is preparing to enter prediction markets through a partnership with Cboe Global Markets, with plans to offer all-or-nothing options contracts tied to the performance of the S&P 500 Index in the coming months.
The product is described as “all-or-nothing options contracts that allow customers to place yes-or-no wagers on the performance of the S&P 500,” and it would be structured as options rather than futures-based event contracts.
The Wall Street Journal report cited by crypto.news says the contracts would allow investors to take positions on where the benchmark U.S. stock index will finish, with Schwab focusing on measurable financial outcomes rather than the wider range of events available on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
In parallel, Decrypt reports Schwab’s CEO Rick Wurster said, “At some point, we will probably have prediction markets,” while distinguishing financial-event bets from topics like sports, politics, and popular culture.
Plus Zone and structure
Beyond the basic yes-or-no payout, the reporting says Schwab plans to incorporate a Cboe feature called “the plus zone,” which would allow traders to earn a partial payout even if the closing price of the index isn’t exactly what they predicted.
crypto.news describes the plus zone as a mechanism that lets participants “receive some compensation even when their forecast is not exact,” as long as the direction of the bet is broadly correct.
The same reporting frames Schwab’s approach as different from platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, noting that those offerings are primarily futures-based event contracts while Schwab’s product would be structured as an option.
In addition, Decrypt says Wurster warned that “people generally lose money,” and that bettors’ success statistics are “not encouraging,” even as Schwab evaluates whether to bring prediction markets to market.
Crypto expansion and competition
Schwab’s prediction-market push arrives as the firm expands crypto services, with Decrypt saying Schwab announced plans to roll out access to trading Bitcoin and Ethereum in the coming weeks and that its fees are “among the industry's lowest.”
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Decrypt also reports Schwab has $11.8 trillion in total client assets, and it says Wurster’s comments came during the company’s first-quarter results call on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the TradingView report in French says Schwab’s announcement of a spot crypto trading platform for retail clients by mid-2026 is weighing on Robinhood, with the stock “dans le « rouge » ce matin” and showing “une baisse de près de 30%” versus the start of 2026.
The same TradingView piece links the market reaction to the idea that Schwab’s move threatens Robinhood’s crypto growth engines, while Decrypt adds that Schwab plans to “stay out of the gaming space” when it does enter prediction markets.
