NYSE Owner ICE Makes $2B Bet on Polymarket

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has announced a $2 billion investment in Polymarket, a leading crypto-powered prediction market. 

The deal values Polymarket at $8 billion before the investment and $9 billion after. This marks one of the largest strategic investments in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector this year.

ICE Enters the World of Prediction Markets

In the official statement, ICE stated that the $2 billion investment will be made entirely in cash. As part of the agreement, ICE will become a global distributor of Polymarket’s event-based data. 

This would give its clients access to real-time market sentiment on financial, political, and global events. In addition, both companies plan to work together on tokenization projects. This aims to connect traditional finance systems with blockchain technology.

In the statement, ICE’s Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Sprecher, said the partnership combines ICE’s long history in financial markets with Polymarket’s innovation in decentralized finance. Likewise, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan welcomed the partnership. He said working together with ICE marks an important step toward bringing prediction markets into everyday finance.

The news boosted market confidence as ICE’s stock rose nearly 3% in premarket trading, moving from $159 to around $164 per share shortly after the announcement.

Polymarket’s Rapid Rise and Regulatory Comeback in the U.S.

Polymarket’s growth over the past year has been remarkable. In August, Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm invested millions in the company when it was valued at just $1 billion. This was after the blockchain-based betting platform completed a $200 million funding round in June. 

Since then, the platform’s valuation has multiplied several times, making it one of the most valuable startups in the decentralized finance space. This surge reflects increasing interest in prediction markets.

The company has also made significant progress with regulators. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice closed its investigation into Polymarket. Following this, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved its return to the U.S. market.

Recently, CEO Shayne Coplan participated in a joint SEC-CFTC roundtable on crypto regulation held on September 29. This event highlights the Polymarket’s growing influence in policy discussions.

Polymarket Expands with New Features

Polymarket’s platform uses USDC stablecoin as its main token for trading predictions. Users can also deposit popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Bitcoin (BTC). Most recently, the prediction platform has introduced Bitcoin deposits, expanding its range of funding options.

The platform allows users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, providing insight into public expectations and probabilities. After its regulatory clearances, Polymarket, in partnership with Stockwits, rolled out a new feature for forecasting corporate earnings. This marks another big step in Polymarket’s expansion effort into the United States.