:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2237775715-ff3c8ac79cf64cd1a8d44ef6efa8de0c.jpg "NYSE Owner ICE Commits Up to B Investment in Betting Platform Polymarket")
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange said it is investing up to $2 billion in Polymarket in a deal valuing the crypto-based prediction marketplace at around $8 billion.
- ICE said it will distribute Polymarket’s event-driven data and will partner with the prediction market on tokenization initiatives.
New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said it is investing up to $2 billion in cash in Polymarket, in a deal valuing the crypto-based prediction marketplace at around $8 billion.
Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan called the partnership a move that “marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream.”
Why This Matters
Prediction markets such as Polymarket are still in the crosshairs of regulators. But its partnership with ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, gives it legitimacy and broader reach beyond retail investors. The backing of such a big financial institution may also help Polymarket return to the U.S. market after domestic consumers lost access to it in 2022.
ICE said it would also distribute Polymarket’s event-driven data, “providing customers with sentiment indicators on topics of market relevance,” and will partner with the prediction market on tokenization initiatives.
“Our investment blends ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, which was founded in 1792, with a forward-thinking, revolutionary company pioneering change within the Decentralized Finance space,” ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher said.
The deal with Atlanta-based ICE comes as prediction markets, or exchanges where you can trade “Yes/No” outcome contracts on a range of future events, continue to grow in popularity. The marketplace, which grabbed headlines during the 2024 U.S. presidential race, said in June that it formed a partnership with Elon Musk’s X to use the platform’s data to provide insights and recommendations for the predictions platform.
Polymarket contracts aren’t currently available in the U.S. after they were blocked by federal regulators from taking on U.S.-based traders three years ago. The company, however, is reportedly in the middle of a comeback in the U.S. after the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission and Justice Department ended a probe into it without filing charges.
In an interview with CNBC Tuesday, Coplan said that U.S. consumers would be able to buy Polymarket contracts “very soon.”
