Wealthsimple has received initial approval to enter prediction markets, a controversial form of futures trading that has earned multi-billion dollar valuations for US firms like Kalshi and Polymarket.
First reported by The Globe and Mail, the Toronto-based FinTech company has been approved by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) to offer “futures and forecast contracts tied to economic indicators, financial markets, and climate trends,” a Wealthsimple spokesperson confirmed to BetaKit. The spokesperson added that Wealthsimple has “not announced any product plans at this time” and has simply received regulatory approval.
“[We] are constantly looking to add more capabilities that really help our clients navigate the myriad of financial choices they face.”
Michael Katchen, Wealthsimple
Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts that pay out if a stated outcome occurs by a certain time. As of this writing, Polymarket has open contracts on who will be the next prime minister of Denmark, the FIFA World Cup winner, and if the US will invade Cuba in 2026. While buying and selling binary options (“yes or no” contracts) was banned by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in 2017, firms like Interactive Brokers and now Wealthsimple have been approved by CIRO to offer these forecast contracts.
Following this story’s publication, a CIRO spokesperson told BetaKit in an email that the organization does not comment on the regulatory status or approvals of individual firms but that, to date, two CIRO members have been authorized to facilitate event contract trading.
“Trading of event contracts by these CIRO dealer members is subject to certain terms and conditions imposed by CIRO, in consultation with [the CSA’s] members,” the spokesperson said. “These terms and conditions relate to what types of products may be offered to Canadian clients and how these products may be traded.”
Wealthsimple’s approval comes as US regulators grapple with how prediction markets are tied to sports gambling and insider trading; in one infamous example, an anonymous account cashed out over $400,000 USD on a $30,000 USD bet that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro would be ousted by the end of January, shortly before a US military operation did so.
Canadian platforms so far do not allow contracts related to sports or elections, Interactive Brokers managing director Jean-François Bernier told The Globe and Mail. For example, Interactive Brokers currently offers forecast contracts like whether Bitcoin will be worth more or less than $100,000 by Dec. 31, 2026, or whether San Francisco’s daily temperature will exceed 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
CSA’s ruling hasn’t gone completely unenforced. Ontario fined Polymarket $200,000 and banned it for two years because the platform offered binary options to investors in the province between June 2020 and May 2023.
Some experts have flagged potential ethical concerns about bringing prediction markets to Canada. University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business associate professor Werner Antweiler, who ran a not-for-profit prediction market in Canada at UBC for over two decades, listed a few risks and limitations of prediction markets in an article published by the school last month. They included the need for a large number of participants and investment caps, insider knowledge of events, and gambling similarities.
“In practice, commercial prediction markets resemble gambling,” Antweiler said. “When a market is based on a simple win-or-lose outcome, it’s essentially a bet.”
One difference, he added, is that prediction markets allow people to change their position when new information comes in.
RELATED: Wealthsimple named CIX Innovator of the Year
Founded in 2014 as a robo-adviser, Wealthsimple is now among Canada’s most valuable private tech companies, boasting a $10-billion valuation following a large Series E round in October 2025. The company has broadened into investment management and banking services, attracting wealthier clients and more sophisticated traders as part of its quest to build “a full-service financial solution” for Canadians. The company serves more than three million customers and is targeting $1 trillion in assets under administration by 2034.
As a result, Wealthsimple typically has its foot in the door for new payment opportunities in Canada. The company was named as part of the Bank of Canada’s first batch of registered payment service providers, subjecting the firm to new reporting rules and paving the way to use Canada’s upcoming Real-Time Rail payment infrastructure. Earlier this month, Wealthsimple became the first Canadian FinTech firm to join the SWIFT network, a global financial messaging network that facilitates wire transfers for more than 11,000 financial institutions around the world.
Wealthsimple CEO Michael Katchen participated in a keynote fireside chat at Elevate’s CIX Summit on Wednesday morning, shortly after accepting his company’s designation as the 2026 CIX Innovator of the Year. While he did not acknowledge his company’s foray into prediction markets on stage, he said that Wealthsimple aspires to help its clients “live their entire financial lives” on the platform.
“We started with wealth management, but now we have banking, tax filing, mortgages, and [we] are constantly looking to add more and more capabilities that really help our clients navigate the myriad of financial choices they face,” Katchen said.
With files from Josh Scott.
Disclosure: Wealthsimple vice-president of payments strategy and chief compliance officer, Hanna Zaidi, sits on BetaKit’s board of directors.
UPDATE (03/25/2026): Following the publication of this story, BetaKit received comment from a CIRO spokesperson. The story has been updated to refelct those remarks.
Feature image courtesy Wealthsimple.