Charles Schwab moves into prediction market business

Glonghui, June 22 — Charles Schwab is entering the prediction markets. According to informed sources, the brokerage firm is collaborating with Cboe Global Markets to launch "all-or-nothing" options contracts, allowing clients to make binary "yes or no" bets on the performance of the S&P 500 Index. These contracts differ slightly from those offered by platforms such as Kalshi or Polymarket, which list futures contracts rather than options. However, the fundamental mechanism of these binary options works the same way: depending on whether the index's closing price is above or below the target price, they either pay a fixed cash settlement or nothing at all. Sources have indicated that Charles Schwab will offer these contracts to clients in the coming months. In addition, Charles Schwab is also introducing a similar options product featuring a function from Cboe called "the plus zone", which allows traders to receive partial payments if their broad market direction predictions are correct, even if the closing price of the index does not exactly match their forecast.