ICE Invests $2 Billion in Polymarket at $9 Billion Valuation

Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced October 7 a strategic investment of up to $2 billion in Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform. The deal values Polymarket at approximately $8 billion pre-money, bringing the post-investment valuation to around $9 billion.

Polymarket operates as a decentralized prediction market where users can bet on real-world events using crypto, from election outcomes to sports results. The New York-based platform has gained significant traction during the 2024 election cycle, with billions of dollars in trading volume on political prediction markets.

Under the agreement, ICE will become the exclusive global distributor of Polymarket's data to institutional investors, expanding the prediction market's reach beyond retail crypto users. The partnership aims to bring Polymarket's real-time event prediction data to traditional financial institutions and professional traders through ICE's established distribution network.

The investment represents one of the largest funding rounds in the prediction market sector. Earlier in 2024, Polymarket was reportedly considering a financing round at a $9-10 billion valuation, while competitor Kalshi was simultaneously raising capital in the growing prediction market space. The sector has experienced rapid growth as institutional interest in alternative data sources and event-driven trading strategies has increased.

ICE's move into prediction markets aligns with the exchange operator's broader strategy of diversifying revenue streams beyond traditional equity and derivatives trading. The Atlanta-based company, which also owns commodity exchanges and mortgage technology platforms, has been expanding its data and analytics offerings to capture growing demand for alternative financial information. 

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