NYSE Owner ICE Invests $2B in Polymarket Ahead of US Relaunch

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has announced an investment of up to $2 billion in prediction market platform Polymarket. The major news comes just weeks after the platform received regulatory clearance to relaunch in the United States.

Under the agreement, ICE will become a global distributor of Polymarket’s event-driven data, while the companies also plan to collaborate on tokenization initiatives.

The investment values Polymarket at around $8 billion. That’s significantly higher than the $1 billion valuation of Polymarket after its funding round in June. That reflects the anticipated US return has resulted in a substantial impact on valuation.

In a press release, Jeffrey Sprecher, Chair and CEO of ICE, said: “Our investment blends ICE … with a forward-thinking, revolutionary company pioneering change within the Decentralized Finance space.”

Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket, added: “Together, we’re expanding how individuals and institutions use probabilities to understand and price the future … Realizing the potential of new technologies, such as tokenization, will require collaboration between established market leaders and next-generation innovators.”

ICE’s Institutional Clout

Founded in 2000, ICE operates some of the world’s most critical financial infrastructure. That includes futures and derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses, and data services. Its most recognizable asset is the New York Stock Exchange, which it acquired in 2013.

By partnering with Polymarket, ICE is expanding its reach into decentralized finance and alternative data products. It also becomes the latest major player entering the growing prediction market space in the US. The investment also signals that ICE likely believes the future of prediction markets is bright despite the numerous legal challenges surrounding them.

Meanwhile, the deal could be even more significant for Polymarket. It provides not only capital but also crucial credibility.

Polymarket’s US Return

Polymarket has been operating largely outside the US since settling with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022 over unregistered event contracts. But in September 2025, the company secured a narrow regulatory path back into the market.

The platform purchased QCEX, a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse, for $112 million earlier this year. The CFTC granted conditional no-action relief to QCEX and its affiliates, clearing the way for Polymarket to resume US operations under a regulated structure.

Polymarket has not announced a launch date yet. Still, the platform has been running ad campaigns in states without legal sports betting, timed to coincide with the football season.

Regulatory Questions Remain

The US regulatory stance on prediction markets remains unsettled, with the CFTC mainly staying quiet on the matter until recently.
Polymarket’s acquisition of QCEX gives it a compliant route. Still, questions and concerns are increasing about whether event-based contracts blur the line between financial derivatives and gambling.

Analysts also note that ICE may value Polymarket’s event data distribution as highly as the markets themselves. That positions prediction markets as a new form of alternative data for institutional clients.

Despite those risks, ICE’s involvement signals confidence that prediction markets are moving closer to the mainstream. The company said it will provide further details on the Polymarket investment during its Q3 earnings call on October 30.