Backpack Exchange, the crypto trading platform founded by former FTX employees, has rolled out a closed beta of a new prediction markets product designed to give traders more flexibility with their capital.
The feature, called Unified Prediction Portfolio, is now available to a select group of active users. It allows participants to place bets on crypto and broader financial market outcomes while using a cross-margined account that connects prediction markets with Backpack’s existing trading products.
According to the company, the goal is to remove the capital constraints that often limit traditional prediction platforms. Instead of locking funds into a single bet until an event concludes, Backpack’s system lets traders deploy the same capital across spot trading, perpetual futures, lending, and prediction markets at the same time.
“Prediction markets are notoriously inefficient,” Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante said in a post on X.
Introducing our first contribution to the prediction market space: The Unified Prediction Portfolio.
— Armani Ferrante (@armaniferrante) January 13, 2026
Today, @Backpack launches an invite-only private beta to begin building the most cutting edge prediction markets for crypto and finance.
The problem: Prediction markets are… https://t.co/8rn6OaoILS
He noted that capital tied up in long-running predictions can prevent traders from acting on other opportunities, even when they have an edge. Backpack’s approach aims to reduce that opportunity cost.
The cross-collateral model means a trader could, for example, take a position in a prediction market, hedge it with a perpetual futures contract, and still maintain spot holdings, all within one unified margin account. Ferrante described the launch as another step toward building a vertically integrated exchange where capital only needs to be deposited once and can then move freely across products.
For now, the beta is invite-only. Backpack said it is prioritizing its most active traders while it evaluates market behavior and fine-tunes its risk engine before opening the product more broadly.
The prediction markets launch follows a pivotal year for the exchange. In January 2025, Backpack acquired FTX EU, the former European arm of FTX, gaining access to a MiFID II-regulated framework. A few months later, in April, the company began the process of recovering assets for users whose funds were frozen after FTX’s collapse in 2022.
The timing also coincides with rapid growth across the prediction markets sector. Data shows Kalshi reaching $6.26 billion in trading volume in December 2025, up from $5.81 billion the month before. Polymarket also saw rising activity, with December volume climbing to $2.28 billion from $1.87 billion in November.
Prediction markets are increasingly stepping into the mainstream as platforms secure high-profile partnerships. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan recently highlighted the company’s integration with the 2026 Golden Globes as one of the most visible prediction market collaborations to date.
