The owner of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), is set to invest nearly 2 billion dollars in Polymarket, the most influential predictive betting platform in the crypto ecosystem. An operation that would propel Polymarket’s valuation to around 10 billion dollars, sending a strong signal to the market: traditional finance now wants a piece of the Web3 pie.
When Wall Street Bets on Blockchain Again
ICE, a historic player in global finance, is not entering this game by chance. Polymarket allows users to bet on the outcome of political, economic, or sports events, using blockchain to ensure transparency and liquidity. Long kept out of the American market after a CFTC sanction in 2022, the platform could thanks to this investment make its grand return to the United States, this time backed by a respected and regulated institution.
This partnership is strategic: it brings essential regulatory credibility to Polymarket to reach a broader and institutional audience. For ICE, it is an entry point into a new sector of exchanges, that of decentralized predictive markets, which are booming.
From Exile to Conquering the American Market
Founded in 2020, Polymarket has experienced a meteoric rise despite its temporary ban on American users. The company has since secured licensed exchange and clearinghouse, strengthened its political ties, and even welcomed Donald Trump Jr. to its advisory board last August. His personal investment fund also participated in the funding round, further consolidating the project’s political and media legitimacy.
In terms of numbers, the performance is impressive: 1.5 billion dollars in volume recorded in September, and 164 million dollars in total value locked (TVL) according to DeFiLlama. At this pace, Polymarket is positioning itself as a major player in crypto betting, well ahead of most of its competitors.
An Open Battle with Kalshi
But the field is far from conquered. Its direct rival, Kalshi, is also experiencing rapid growth: the company raised 185 million dollars this summer for a valuation of 2 billion. The battle between these two platforms could redefine the market for prediction markets, these opinion exchanges where one bets not on stocks, but on the future.
The Line Between Finance and Betting Blurs
The arrival of the owner of the NYSE in a Web3 project of this magnitude marks a historic turning point. Traditional finance no longer watches the blockchain from afar: it enters, wallet in hand. If the deal materializes, Polymarket could become the first predictive betting platform to establish itself both in the crypto world and on the regulated American scene, an explosive fusion between two universes long considered incompatible.
