ICE bets $2B on Polymarket: What it means for US prediction markets
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) invested $2 billion into Polymarket at a $9 billion post-money valuation, CEO Shayne Coplan introduced on Oct. 7.
The deal represents essentially the most vital single funding in prediction markets and positions the sector as crypto’s rising battleground as institutional capital seeks on-chain infrastructure with real-world utility.
ICE is the proprietor of the New York Stock Exchange and the world’s largest alternate firm.
Lynn Martin, president of NYSE, celebrated the partnership in a publish earlier than the opening bell. She mentioned that the partnership will “assist deliver prediction markets into the monetary mainstream.”
Beyond the funding
Coplan described the partnership as “a serious step in bringing prediction markets into the monetary mainstream” and “a monumental step ahead for DeFi.”
The announcement additionally highlighted that ICE founder Jeff Sprecher plans to make the most of NYSE infrastructure to advance the tokenization of belongings. Additionally, ICE will distribute Polymarket knowledge to 1000’s of economic establishments globally.
The funding follows two beforehand unannounced rounds. Coplan revealed that Founders Fund led a $150 million Series B earlier in 2025 at a $1.2 billion valuation, with participation from Ribbit, Valor, Point72 Ventures, and Coinbase.
Blockchain Capital additionally led a $55 million Series A in 2024 at a $350 million valuation.
What it means for prediction markets
Polymarket’s return to US markets gained regulatory clearance on Sept. 3 when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a no-action letter to QCX LLC, enabling occasion contracts to function beneath federal derivatives guidelines. QCX was acquired by Polymarket this 12 months.
The approval marks a comeback for the platform, which ceased US operations in 2022 after settling unregistered derivatives expenses for $1.4 million.
The regulatory inexperienced gentle arrives as prediction markets captured mainstream consideration. September’s month-to-month quantity more than doubled to $4.28 billion, up 126.3% from August’s $1.89 billion.
Kalshi seized market management with $2.74 billion in September quantity, claiming roughly 64% share, whereas Polymarket posted 41.4% development to $1.42 billion.
Haseeb Qureshi, accomplice at Dragonfly, referred to as the transfer “a regime change” for prediction markets. He added:
“Polymarket + NYSE is a regime change. $2B funding means there’s a earlier than and after now for prediction markets. We’re not within the kiddie pool anymore. Watch this house.”
Stani Kulechov, founding father of Aave, praised Coplan’s focus and mentioned “Polymarket is the way forward for information.”
Martin, from NYSE, added:
“Through the gold normal of economic infrastructure, we’re redefining how fashionable markets function.”
ICE’s entry validates prediction markets as institutional-grade infrastructure.
The backing of the world’s largest alternate operator and enthusiasm from established crypto figures recommend prediction markets have crossed from an experimental DeFi vertical to a class poised for mainstream adoption.
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