New FTX Derivative Lets Traders Bet on Re-Election of Brazil’s Bolsonaro

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX has launched a futures contract allowing traders to take a bet on the re-election or otherwise of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

• The contract, announced by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on Twitter Saturday, will expire to $1 if Bolsonaro wins re-election and $0 if he does not.
• “Bolsonaro 2022” should theoretically track the Brazilian president’s perceived chances of re-election. It is not available to traders in the U.S.
• The election is set to be held on Oct. 2, 2022, with a second round scheduled for Oct. 30 should no candidate receive more than 50% of the vote in the first round.
• Polling has Bolsonaro trailing the Workers’ Party candidate, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
• The most recent research by Datafolha gives Lula a lead of 23 points in a run-off vote between the two.
• Bolsonaro 2022 follows a similar contract launched by FTX on President Donald Trump’s ultimately unsuccessful re-election in the U.S. in 2020.
• More recently, the exchange listed a WallStreetBets futures contract to capitalize on the retail trading fervor in January.

Also read: Consensus 2021: Crypto Is Booming in Brazil, but Regulations Lag Behind