The 2026 FIFA World Cup gave Rothera a rare opportunity to launch our event contract exchange and clearinghouse to coincide with one of the largest, most-followed sporting events in history. The tournament also presented an immediate and demanding question: could a newly-built exchange and clearinghouse perform amid the volume, operational complexity, and settlement demands that would accompany the tournament? The story of the past year at Rothera is about what it took to prepare for that moment – and what that preparation proved once the World Cup began.

Our timeline for bringing Rothera to market was not generous. We incorporated last July, announced our joint venture with Robinhood and Susquehanna International Group last October and completed our acquisition of MIAXdx in January. In practical terms, the build began in the new year – less than six months before the World Cup.

That short runway meant making a flurry of consequential decisions. We had to build an exchange and clearing technology that could process high volumes at low latency, design rulebooks, and operational processes to support event contract markets at scale, and hire an experienced team to do it all (including 24/7 support!).

We also made a deliberate choice not to rush straight into the World Cup. We wanted to complete real listing, trading, clearing, and settlement cycles first to prove the infrastructure worked before ramping into the highest-volume moment we'd face this early in our history. That approach cost us time we didn't have much of – less than five months to get fully ready.

While we conducted extensive testing ahead of launch, the World Cup became, in effect, Rothera’s first real stress test. The results were definitive. The platform saw 3.44 billion contracts traded across the tournament, averaging 29.6 million contracts per game. All 2,902 contracts we listed for the World Cup were settled. The single largest event by volume was Turkey vs. USA, with 49 million contracts traded on that match alone. Just as importantly, the platform’s security controls performed as designed throughout the tournament, and our compliance and surveillance processes operated effectively.

These contract and volume numbers are meaningful milestones for our business, but more than that, they are evidence that our technology and operations can perform under sustained pressure at significant scale.The contracts centered on soccer, but the underlying value was broader: the ability to convert dispersed expectations about uncertain outcomes into transparent, continuously updated prices in liquid markets.

The tournament also validated Rothera’s place in what remains a pivotal moment for event contract markets. In less than two months since launch, we took approximately 7-8% of total market share among CFTC-regulated venues and roughly 30% average market share compared with the largest market in the specific contracts we listed. That growth is a testament to our strategy and to the strength of our partners – and it positions Rothera for rapid growth as we continue to add new contracts covering elections, central bank decisions, and sector-specific applications for participants of all sizes and categories.

None of this happens without the right people. We are proud of the leadership we've assembled – experienced operators with proven track records across the industry’s foremost exchanges and clearinghouses – and of the caliber of hires we’ve brought in across every function, from technology to compliance to operations. Everyone at Rothera joined together and worked harmoniously, if furiously, to deliver under pressure. Much like Spain, whom we sincerely congratulate on their monumental victory.

The event contracts landscape is in the earliest stages of institutionalization, making the World Cup a critical moment for us. The ecosystem is only beginning to expand and our team is committed to growing an unconflicted venue that offers FCMs a partner, not a competitor, to provide access to event contracts for their customers, caters to institutions and their unique needs, and enables participants to better hedge their portfolios, manage risk, and make better decisions. With the industry maturing and interest in event contracts growing, successful platforms will be defined by their ability to combine high-performance infrastructure with rigorous, compliant operations that offer participants peace of mind.

We look forward to building on our momentum and continue delivering what this market needs to grow responsibly.

Tom Chippas and Matt Trudeau, Co-Founders, Rothera