NYSE parent nears deal for US$2 billion stake in crypto-based betting startup Polymarket: sources

INTERCONTINENTAL Exchange, the parent of New York Stock Exchange, is in talks to invest US$2 billion in Polymarket, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday (Oct 7), citing people familiar with the matter.

The deal could potentially value the crypto-based betting platform between US$8 billion and US$10 billion, the report said.

Reuters had reported earlier this year that the company was close to securing a valuation of more than US$1 billion in a funding round led by billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.

A spokesperson for Polymarket did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Intercontinental, whose shares rose 4.4 per cent in premarket trading following the report, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The potential deal, which the WSJ report said could come as soon as Tuesday, would mark a vote of confidence for Polymarket from a major financial institution, as it prepares to re-enter the US market more than three years after restricting American users under a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating an unregistered derivatives trading platform.

Polymarket allows users to profit from predicting outcomes across a wide range of topics, including sports, entertainment, politics and economy. Trading in event-based contracts has surged in popularity since the US presidential election last year. Among the platform’s currently trending markets is “when will the government shutdown end?”.

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The company had also secured an undisclosed investment from Donald Trump Jr-backed venture capital firm 1789 Capital in August.