A top options firm is hiring traders to bet on the weather and other 'event-driven outcomes'

• Susquehanna is looking to hire several pros to trade in the booming prediction markets.
• The roles will center on building real-time models to help inform bets on event-driven outcomes.
• Prediction sites like Polymarket and Kalshi have boomed in the last year.

Prediction markets are booming, and the hype is spreading beyond the retail crowd to major trading firms.

Options-trading giant Susquehanna International Group is seeking to expand into the booming market where traders can bet on everything from Fed rate cuts to the likelihood of a snowstorm.

According to the company's careers page, it is looking to hire several prediction market traders. The roles will center on designing and implementing real-time models to assist with betting on the type of event-driven outcomes that made prediction markets popular, including what tomorrow's weather might be.

Prediction markets are relatively new, with their popularity exploding around the time of the 2024 election.

"The ideal candidate combines strong trading intuition, robust statistical and programming skills, and the ability to translate ambiguous problems into structured, high-quality models that drive profitable decision-making," the job posting reads.

Susquehanna has ventured into betting markets before. In 2024, it launched a 15-person sports betting team at its office in Dublin, and indicated plans to expand to the US.

It's also not the first sign that major institutions are looking to get in on the action in prediction markets.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said during the bank's most recent earnings call that it was exploring opportunities in the space.

Alex Taaffe, chief revenue officer at crypto market maker GSR, said he isn't surprised by Susquehanna's decision to expand into prediction markets now. He sees this as a watershed moment and predicts further adoption by big Wall Street players.

"Over time, prediction markets will increasingly serve as benchmarks and data points that investors can use to hedge risk, express macro views, and complement existing instruments across rates, equities, and other asset classes," he told Business Insider.

Marek Sandrik, partner at the blockchain-focused venture capital firm RockawayX, said Susquehanna's move shows that prediction markets are maturing, evolving from a highly speculative vehicle into a real-time sentiment tool for investors to gauge key event outcomes.

The Federal Reserve this week said in a report that prediction markets platform Kalshi can be useful in forecasting economic events.

Sandrik also thinks that rising interest from Wall Street could help address certain problems that have been a hindrance to the burgeoning space.

"Today, prediction markets struggle with weak liquidity and murky regulatory frameworks," he said. "Institutional participation should address both challenges and contribute to a better user experience and accelerated growth."

Susquehanna could not be reached for comment.