Barclays Says Prediction Markets are Retail’s New Trading Toy
Prediction markets have surged since the 2024 election, becoming retails latest high-risk trade.Kalshi and Polymarket topped $24 billion in notional volume by April, up from under $5 billion.Barclays says prediction markets are rising fast but remain far below the $57 trillion 0DTE market. Prediction markets are moving from niche internet corners into retail trading‘s main arena, with Barclays calling them “retail’s shiny new toy.” The phrase reflects a rapid volume surge since the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The appeal is simple. Traders buy contracts linked to real-world outcomes, from elections and sports to economic data and climate events. Instead of tracking a companys earnings, they trade a yes-or-no result. Retail Traders Move Beyond Stocks and Crypto Barclays analysts said monthly notional volume on prediction platforms has climbed sharply since last fall. The rise has placed prediction markets near leveraged exchange-traded products in retail activity. That comparison matters, as leveraged ETPs are already high-risk tools. They use debt and derivatives to amplify daily moves in stocks, indexes, or other assets. The same retail appetite has appeared in other markets. Five years ago, small traders helped drive the GameStop meme stock surge. They later pushed crypto deeper into mainstream investing. More recently, retail traders became major users of zero-day-to-expiration









