Prospect Markets said today (Thursday) that its US brokerage arm became a registered introducing broker. Prospect Brokerage USA joined the National Futures Association (NFA) and registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
A separate affiliate joined a CFTC-regulated exchange three days earlier. The two approvals split Prospect's US rollout between retail distribution and direct exchange access, extending a shift toward third-party prediction-market infrastructure.
Prospect Brokerage USA LLC will introduce individual customers. Prospect Trading USA LLC supports Prospect Markets' institutional business.
Both routes rely on Crypto.com entities for exchange, clearing and customer-account infrastructure. Crypto.com spun out its standalone OG prediction-market platform this year.
One Brand, Two US Subsidiaries
Prospect Brokerage registered as a guaranteed introducing broker under an agreement with Foris DAX FCM LLC, which operates as OG Broker. The futures commission merchant is related to Crypto.com and will carry the accounts introduced by Prospect.
The arrangement uses the same introducing-broker model attracting US prop firms.
Prospect will not carry those accounts.
NFA guidance says a guarantor FCM is liable for the acts and omissions of its guaranteed IB, whose customer accounts must be carried by that FCM or the retail foreign exchange dealer named in the guarantee.
Prospect said Prospect Brokerage can now introduce US retail customers to Crypto.com Derivatives North America (CDNA) for fully collateralized event contracts, primarily tied to sports.
"Our focus turns to commercialization," founder and Chief Executive Officer Johnny Chen said.
The registration is not a regulatory endorsement of Prospect, its parent or its products. That limitation appears in Prospect's own release and is separate from the requirements Prospect Brokerage met to operate as an IB.
Direct Exchange Access Sits in Another Company
Prospect Trading USA became a CDNA exchange member on Monday. Prospect said the membership gives the subsidiary direct access to CDNA and supports its institutional trading division.
The CFTC designated the venue, legally named North American Derivatives Exchange, as a contract market. It now does business as Crypto.com and CDNA after a series of ownership and name changes dating back to HedgeStreet.
The institutional route adds to the channels feeding business into Crypto.com's event-contract venue. Trading Technologies connected its platform to OG.com this month. Professional users can now reach the venue from TT.
Prospect's retail plan dates to a non-binding July agreement with OG Broker. The companies targeted a third-quarter launch through CDNA and said they still needed final agreements and regulatory approvals at that stage.
Crypto.com Repeats the Guaranteed IB Model
Prospect is not the first customer-facing company to use Crypto.com's FCM as guarantor for a prediction-market IB.
High Roller Technologies, a listed online gaming operator, signed its Crypto.com agreement in April. Its ROLR US subsidiary became an NFA member and guaranteed IB in June, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The gaming operator plans to distribute CDNA contracts through its ROLR platform. Its June filing said Crypto.com's FCM would carry customer accounts and provide transaction processing and custody.
These arrangements are part of a wider business-to-business market for prediction-market access. Consumer brands can supply the interface and customer base without owning CDNA or the clearing operation.
Prop Firms Use the Same License for Futures
Futures prop firms are adopting the IB structure for a different product funnel. Topstep and Tradeify use regulated affiliates to move traders from simulated evaluations or funded accounts toward personal futures accounts.
Tradeify launched Slay Markets in May with NinjaTrader Clearing as its FCM.
Its founders later told FinanceMagnates.com that the prop business becomes a funnel for live accounts. Traders can transfer from a simulated environment to a personal futures account without leaving the wider group.
Prospect Brokerage's registration applies to the IB activity, not any simulated challenge. FinanceMagnates.com previously found that the distinction is central to the combination of prop trading and retail brokerage.
The launch is not live. Prospect's July announcement targeted a start before the third quarter ends on September 30, but Thursday's release did not provide a go-live date.