Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is on the verge of acquiring a substantial $2 billion stake in Polymarket, a rapidly growing crypto-based prediction platform. This move, if finalized, could potentially value Polymarket between $8 billion and $10 billion, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The news of ICE’s interest in Polymarket has sent its shares soaring more than 4% in pre-market trading, signaling investors’ excitement about the company’s potential entry into the crypto and prediction market sectors.
Polymarket, headquartered in Manhattan, New York, offers users the ability to trade on real-world outcomes across various categories such as politics, economics, weather events, and global affairs. The platform has gained significant traction due to the increasing demand for on-chain event forecasting tools that combine market dynamics with crowd-sourced intelligence.
The potential $10 billion valuation for Polymarket represents a remarkable tenfold increase from just a few months ago when Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund led a $200 million funding round, valuing the platform at $1 billion. Since then, Polymarket has secured support from notable backers like Donald Trump Jr., who joined its advisory board following a significant investment from his firm 1789 Capital.
Despite Polymarket’s impressive growth and strategic partnerships, its U.S. relaunch has hit a snag due to the ongoing government shutdown, which has halted key regulatory functions at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This has left Polymarket and other exchanges unable to launch new offerings until normal operations resume.
While the shutdown presents challenges for Polymarket’s expansion plans, the company remains optimistic about its future prospects. With ICE’s potential investment and the platform’s innovative approach to prediction markets, Polymarket is poised to continue its growth trajectory and solidify its position in the burgeoning crypto and prediction market space.