Prediction markets that offer the ability to make ultra-short-term bets on whether the price of cryptocurrencies will rise or fall are more popular than ever, and more players are crowding into the arena to get a slice of the bettors’ money. On Oct. 6, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) started offering prediction contracts regarding whether Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and eight other major cryptocurrencies will rise or fall during 15-minute intervals. Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market, is responsible for supplying the infrastructure for the contracts.

Financial Times reporting showed that five- to 15-minute contracts made up more than half of crypto betting on Kalshi and Polymarket as…