Polymarket was once a niche crypto platform. Now, the startup is moving into the ranks of mainstream finance thanks to a $2 billion investment from trading giant Intercontinental Exchange. Under the terms of the deal, announced on Tuesday, the investment will value the company at $9 billion, and the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange will distribute the prediction market’s data.
The two companies will also work together on tokenization initiatives, or the act of putting financial assets into blockchain wrappers, according to a press release. The Wall Street Journal first reported Intercontinental Exchange’s investment into the prediction market. The investment is in cash, per the release.
“Our partnership with ICE marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream,” Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket, said in a statement.
Prediction market frenzy
The nearly $2 billion injection into Polymarket comes as investors are ponying up cash to capitalize on growing enthusiasm for prediction markets, or arenas where investors can bet on whether China will invade Taiwan or the future price of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Proponents say these markets combine the “wisdom of the crowd” with financial repercussions that encourage participants to be intellectually honest about whether an event will occur.
Founded in 2020, Polymarket relies on blockchain technology, and took off during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, becoming a staple of political reporting. Trading volume on the platform peaked to nearly $400 million in November the day after the general election, according to data from crypto analytics site DefiLlama.
Daily volume has since dipped to between $40 million and $80 million in early October, but investors still believe prediction markets are the future, especially as Polymarket and its competitor Kalshi toe the line between sports prediction markets and sports betting.
In June, Polymarket reportedly was close to raising a $200 million round at a $1 billion valuation. Kalshi is also raking in capital. That same month, it announced that it had raised $185 million at a $2 billion valuation. Kalshi is now in talks to raise capital in a deal that would value it at nearly $5 billion, per The Information.
