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