[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] U.S. sports prediction market Underdog will introduce a feature by year-end that allows direct deposits of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies into prediction market accounts.

On Oct. 22 (local time), blockchain media outlet Cryptopolitan reported that Underdog is working with infrastructure provider Zerohash. Qualified customers will be able to add funds directly to their accounts in the Underdog app in the evening or on weekends, regardless of bank business hours.

Underdog is placing the focus of the partnership on speed and expanding choices. Artyk Adler (아르틱 아들라), Underdog’s head of payments, said stablecoins and on-chain assets offer more options and speed. Adam Tassin (아담 테산), Zerohash’s head of sales, also stressed that funds can be moved globally around the clock.

Demand has also been confirmed. According to an October announcement by IG Group, which acquired Underdog in July, 46 percent of Underdog customers had previously traded cryptocurrencies. Some 42 percent said they preferred funding an Underdog wallet with cryptocurrencies, and 58 percent said they had traded individual stocks. Overlapping demand from sports fans and retail investors was one reason IG Group pursued the acquisition of Underdog.

The overall prediction market is also expanding. TRM Labs estimated that monthly trading volume grew from about $1.2 billion in early 2025 to above $20 billion in January 2026. Monthly active unique wallets exceeded 800,000. In an Oct. 23 data snapshot by Artemis, prediction market trading volume over the past year was about $400 billion. Sports contracts accounted for 42.7 percent, while cryptocurrency-related contracts made up 14.6 percent.

Underdog previously offered sports contracts using Crypto.com’s derivatives unit approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It then launched its own prediction market platform on July 18, 2026. The Zerohash partnership can be seen as a step beyond offering through external infrastructure and toward adding cryptocurrency funding methods within its own platform.

Zerohash has already applied similar features to other prediction markets. In July 2026, it introduced cryptocurrency and stablecoin deposit functions for ProphetX. The partnership adds another route for existing cryptocurrency holders to use digital assets.

Some services may not be available in New York. Cryptocurrency and stablecoin holdings in an account are not protected by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) or the Securities Investor Protection Corp (SIPC).

The regulatory environment is also in flux. On Oct. 9, 2026, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed explicitly including event contracts in the definition of swaps.

The partnership is drawing attention as an attempt to expand prediction market account funding from bank accounts to digital assets. Actual results are expected to depend on user adoption after the year-end launch and changes in the regulatory environment.

News from @nextpredictio: @Underdog today announced that users will be able to fund their accounts with stablecoins and crypto, in a new partnership with zerohash. ↓ https://t.co/AkylEq03Q0