What happened?
Polymarket quietly revealed it raised $205 million across two previously undisclosed rounds in 2024 and 2025, lifting earlier private valuations to about $1.2 billion. Shortly afterward, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said it plans to invest up to $2 billion, valuing Polymarket at roughly $9 billion post-money. The news comes as Polymarket prepares to relaunch in the U.S. after acquiring QCX and getting a CFTC green light.
Who does this affect?
Retail and institutional users of prediction markets could see better liquidity and product availability thanks to the new capital and ICE’s distribution. Crypto investors, venture backers, and startups in the prediction and event-driven trading space are directly impacted by the bigger valuations and increased mainstream access. Regulators and competitors like Kalshi will also be watching closely because Polymarket’s U.S. return shifts the competitive and oversight landscape.
Why does this matter?
This marks a shift of prediction markets from niche DeFi experiments toward mainstream finance, which could attract much larger institutional capital and new regulated products. ICE’s involvement and plans to distribute event data and support tokenization could boost liquidity, adoption, and integration with traditional exchanges. Overall, the rounds and strategic partnership may lift valuations across similar startups, intensify competition, and change how markets price event-driven risk.