Intercontinental Exchange Corporation (ICE), owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is set to invest up to $2 billion in cash in Polymarket, a crypto platform where users bet on the outcome of political elections, sports matches and other real-world events.
As a result of the deal, ICE will become a global distributor of Polymarket data generated from market expectations and will be able to provide clients with sentiment indicators on key topics. It will also enter into a tokenization partnership with the platform.
"There are many opportunities in the markets that ICE, together with Polymarket, can capitalize on," said ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher. - We are enthusiastic about where this collaboration will take us."
The company said it will disclose its strategy for Polymarket when it releases its third-quarter report on Oct. 30.
Based on the value of the deal, the entire Polymarket was valued at about $8 billion, indicating high investor confidence in the prospects of the platform, notes The Wall Street Journal. The investment by one of the world's largest exchange operators, with a market capitalization of more than $90 billion, could strengthen Polymarket's reputation and help it regain a presence in the United States. Polymarket is banned in several countries as an unlicensed offshore gambling site. In the US, its operations have been restricted since 2022 following a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under the Joe Biden administration.
The platform gained attention after the 2024 U.S. presidential election, when its trading volume exceeded $2 billion and its prediction of Donald Trump's victory proved accurate. With the arrival of the Trump administration, Polymarket's relations with the authorities improved: investigations by the DOJ and CFTC were closed, and Donald Trump Jr., whose venture capital firm 1789 Capital became one of Polymarket's investors, the WSJ emphasizes, joined the company's board. Polymarket also acquired a small licensed exchange and clearing house, allowing it to return to the U.S. market.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
