Alpaca Registers as Futures Commission Merchant with the CFTC and NFA to Advance Launch of Prediction Markets

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alpaca, a global leader in agent-first brokerage infrastructure, today announced that its subsidiary, Alpaca Derivatives LLC, has registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a futures commission merchant (FCM) and is a Member of the National Futures Association (NFA), marking an important step in Alpaca’s expansion into new financial markets.

This milestone broadens Alpaca’s regulated brokerage capabilities and enables the company to offer access to event contracts traded on prediction markets. Over time, Alpaca plans to introduce a broader range of futures products, subject to regulatory approval.

“Alpaca is building a one-stop platform for financial companies that want to give their customers access to more markets,” said Tony Lee, Chief Brokerage Officer at Alpaca. “Entering a new market often means integrating multiple providers and taking on added operational complexity. By adding event contracts to our platform, we can give partners a simpler way to expand their offerings through the infrastructure they already use to build and scale their businesses.”

Prediction markets are marketplaces where participants trade event contracts tied to the outcomes of future events. Event contracts can help people forecast, plan for, or hedge against real-world outcomes and have been part of regulated U.S. markets for more than two decades. Alpaca sees event contracts as one of several ways modern infrastructure can responsibly broaden access to regulated markets.

“As financial markets become more connected and programmable, financial companies need regulated infrastructure that makes it easier to bring new products to market,” said Yoshi Yokokawa, Co-Founder and CEO of Alpaca. “This milestone expands the range of markets Alpaca can support and strengthens our ability to power the next generation of API-driven and AI-native financial services.”

Interest in prediction markets has grown rapidly as more people seek new ways to express views on a wide range of outcomes. Combined monthly global trading volume across the two leading platforms increased nearly fivefold in seven months to approximately $24 billion in April 2026, according to Pew Research Center, and total market volumes are estimated to reach $240 billion in 2026 and grow to $1 trillion by 2030.

About Alpaca

Alpaca is a US-headquartered, self-clearing broker-dealer providing global agent-first brokerage infrastructure that powers access to traditional and on-chain asset classes. Today, Alpaca supports over 10 million brokerage accounts across hundreds of fintechs and institutions in more than 40 countries, backed by $400 million in funding. For more information, visit alpaca.markets.

Alpaca Derivatives LLC (NFA ID: 0576042) is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) as a Futures Commission Merchant (“FCM”) and is a Member of the National Futures Association (“NFA”).

Alpaca Derivatives LLC has not yet commenced regulated business operations as a Futures Commission Merchant.