New York Stock Exchange Owner Invests $2B in Polymarket
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, announced that it intends to invest up to $2 billion in prediction market Polymarket. The investment values the company at around $8 billion and will turn ICE into a worldwide distributor of the firm's event-driven data.
ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher stated that the partnership presents new opportunities for collaboration between traditional exchanges and emerging blockchain technologies. Polymarket's CEO, Shayne Coplan, noted that the partnership would enhance how individuals and institutions use probabilities to assess and price future events.
Polymarket has seen growing popularity, particularly during the 2024 US presidential election, when the prediction market apps attracted billions of dollars in wagers. Despite its current offshore status, Polymarket has been working to re-establish a regulated US presence.
Earlier this year, it acquired the derivatives exchange QCX, allowing it to operate under federal supervision. The acquisition came soon after federal prosecutors ended a probe into whether the company violated a 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) by allowing US users access to unregistered markets.
Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence described the $8 billion valuation as a costly entry point for ICE, though the investment reflects growing institutional confidence in blockchain-based prediction markets. Shares of ICE rose 1.4% in New York following the announcement.
ICE said it will use Polymarket's data to provide customers with sentiment insights across financial markets.
Shutdown delays Polymarket relaunch
Despite Polymarket’s fresh $8 billion valuation, the prediction platform has run into some untimely luck. The current US government shutdown has suspended Polymarket's local relaunch, putting the site on hold until it can introduce new markets once the CFTC returns to regular activity.
The ongoing shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has brought designated contract markets like QCEX, the exchange recently purchased by Polymarket, to a standstill.
Historically, the CFTC pauses all product certifications during government shutdowns due to furloughed staff and suspended administrative processes. Similar periods of delay have followed previous shutdowns, including the 35-day delay between December 2018 and January 2019.
Acting Chair Caroline Pham, now the sole commissioner, could potentially revise the policy to permit limited administrative actions. Pham, who previously served as a policy advisor during the 2013 shutdown, has questioned the necessity of halting certifications in past statements.
Her decision could determine whether Polymarket proceeds with its US market rollout through QCEX.
QCEX filed self-certifications with the CFTC on October 1 to list sports-related event contracts, including wagers on outcomes, totals, and spreads. However, none has been seen on the public portal of the CFTC, the last seen certification being dated Sept. 29.
A delay indicates that all pending cases will remain unprocessed until the government reopens.
