TLDR
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of the New York Stock Exchange, will invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket at an $8 billion valuation
- Polymarket is a crypto-based prediction market that allows users to bet on outcomes ranging from politics to sports and entertainment
- The platform was banned from US operations in 2022 after a CFTC settlement but received approval to re-enter the US market last month
- Donald Trump Jr. joined Polymarket’s advisory board in August, and his venture capital firm invested in the company
- ICE will use Polymarket’s event-driven data to provide sentiment indicators on market topics and explore tokenization initiatives
Intercontinental Exchange announced Tuesday it will invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket. The deal values the crypto-based prediction market at approximately $8 billion pre-investment.
ICE operates the New York Stock Exchange and has a market value exceeding $90 billion. The Atlanta-based company will pay for the investment in cash.
Polymarket allows users to bet on yes-or-no questions about events across politics, sports, entertainment and other topics. The platform was founded in 2020 and is based in New York.
The company gained attention during the 2024 presidential election. Its betting markets on the November vote attracted over $2 billion in trading volume and correctly anticipated Donald Trump’s victory.
Polymarket faced regulatory challenges in 2022. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission required the platform to restrict US users after determining it operated an unregistered derivatives trading platform.
Return to the US Market
The company took steps to re-enter the American market this year. Polymarket acquired QCEX, a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange and clearinghouse, for $112 million.
The CFTC approved Polymarket’s re-launch last month. This came more than three years after the platform banned American users.
Polymarket’s relationship with authorities improved under the Trump administration. The company’s founder Shayne Coplan shared in July that Justice Department and CFTC probes had ended.
Donald Trump Jr. joined Polymarket’s advisory board in August. His venture capital firm 1789 Capital also invested in the company during the same month.
The platform’s current trending markets include bets on the US government shutdown resolution. Users also bet on topics like the least streamed song on Taylor Swift’s latest album.
Data and Technology Partnership
ICE will become a distributor of Polymarket’s event-driven data. Investors increasingly use Polymarket for real-time probabilities that bettors assign to future events.
The two companies plan to collaborate on tokenization initiatives. This technology combines traditional financial markets with blockchain-based assets and trading technologies.
Polymarket counts billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund as an investor. Reuters reported earlier this year that Founders Fund was leading a funding round valuing Polymarket at more than $1 billion.
ICE shares rose 4.4% in premarket trading following the announcement. The investment represents a major endorsement of prediction markets by a traditional financial exchange operator.
Polymarket remains banned in several countries as an unlicensed offshore gambling platform. The platform faces competition from Kalshi, which was valued at $2 billion in a recent funding round.
ICE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher is married to Kelly Loeffler. Loeffler serves as administrator of the Small Business Administration under the Trump administration.
