NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Thomas Peterffy, founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers, said he anticipates faster growth this year for the company's prediction markets platform, ForecastEx, as Americans place bets on the November U.S. midterm elections.
The online brokerage's ForecastEx allows investors to purchase "yes" or "no" contracts on questions covering economic indicators, elections, and climate issues.
In an interview with Reuters, Peterffy stated that Interactive Brokers plans to more closely integrate its betting offerings with other services in 2026, including potential new products launched this year.
"Our customers will be better informed when they see the forecast predictions, vis-a-vis subjects that are relevant to the companies and industries that they invest in or in the industries in which they have to lighten up their investments," said Peterffy, ranked among the world's 25 richest individuals by Forbes with an estimated net worth of $82 billion.
"Looking at the future developments in total, gives our customers an advantage over other brokers who do not have a full plate of products that customers can view," he added.
Prediction markets have expanded rapidly since President Donald Trump's latest term began, with his administration easing regulations on the sector. Betting on events like elections was illegal until 2024, when a U.S. federal court overturned a Commodity Futures Trading Commission rule banning such wagers.
Following the regulatory changes, prediction markets have grown swiftly. In October, Intercontinental Exchange, operator of the New York Stock Exchange, invested up to $2 billion in Polymarket. Another player, Kalshi, reached an $11 billion valuation in its latest funding round.
Interactive Brokers holds a market value of approximately $120 billion. It is one of the largest U.S. trading platforms, with about 4.13 million customer accounts at the end of September, a 32% increase from the previous year.
Peterffy said the company expects customer accounts to grow at a similar rapid pace in 2026, fueled by betting on the upcoming midterm elections. He remains optimistic about ForecastEx despite anticipating more competitors entering the business.
"More and more prospective participants are trying to enter this market and there doesn't seem to be any barrier. The applications are practically limitless, in the sense that we're full of questions about the future all the time. I'm incredibly bullish on this space, especially with elections coming this year," he noted.
Recent wagers on platforms such as Polymarket have sparked insider trading suspicions and drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers, who are advocating to ban federal officials and government employees from betting in prediction markets. Some U.S. states have also questioned whether sports-prediction platforms like Kalshi violate state gaming regulations.
Interactive Brokers is expanding into cryptocurrency. Last year, the firm launched a service for some U.S. retail customers allowing them to use stablecoins to fund brokerage accounts as part of a phased rollout.
The company partners with crypto platform Paxos and invests in crypto exchange Zero Hash, offering customers trading in various cryptocurrencies through these arrangements.
Interactive Brokers also operates a prime brokerage unit serving several hedge funds. The company reported that its hedge fund clients achieved returns of about 28.91% last year, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which grew 16.4% in the same period.
Peterffy, like others in finance, has monitored the U.S. Justice Department's threat to indict Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over congressional testimony last summer regarding a Fed building project. Other global central banks and Wall Street leaders, including Jamie Dimon, have expressed support for Powell.
"I'm in favor of the independence of the Fed," Peterffy said, adding that "if they find any wrongdoing, whether it's the Fed chair or anybody else, that person should be prosecuted."
He cautioned against rapid Fed interest rate cuts this year, stating he "wouldn't want inflation to run away."
"I would not be pushing for lower rates as fast as some folks in the administration are," Peterffy said.
On Friday, Trump called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10% starting January 20. This has raised concerns about potential administration interference in the private sector, highlighted by financial industry leaders as a major issue.
Peterffy said he is "not in favor of the government interfering with private enterprise."
"To the extent there is legislation that empowers the government to do that, then they should be free to do that. But if there isn't, they shouldn't be doing it," he stated.