ICE may back Polymarket again as platform seeks $20 billion valuation

Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is considering participating in Polymarket’s latest funding round after investing more than $1.6 billion in the prediction market platform.

ICE Chief Executive Jeff Sprecher told Bloomberg Television on Thursday that the company would evaluate the round and could participate if its involvement would help support the raise.

ICE has participated in two Polymarket funding rounds, increasing the value of its stake to $1.64 billion by March.

Polymarket is seeking new capital at a valuation of more than $20 billion, more than double the valuation it received in October, Bloomberg previously reported.

Prediction markets have grown rapidly since the 2024 US presidential election, attracting investors and expanding into sports, politics and geopolitical events. Rival platform Kalshi has also raised significant capital as demand for event contracts has increased.

Sprecher said ICE’s relationship with Polymarket is primarily intended to facilitate the exchange of information and expertise rather than establish ICE as a venture investor.

“We’re really here to have this transfer of information and expertise,” Sprecher said, adding that ICE does not view itself as a venture firm.

The sector is also facing regulatory disputes as several US states challenge sports and election related event contracts and argue that they fall under state oversight rather than solely under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Robinhood Chief Executive Vlad Tenev reiterated Thursday that prediction markets should be regulated federally by the CFTC. He said the industry would likely continue operating even if courts ultimately give states greater authority over certain contracts.

Sprecher also addressed the growing popularity of perpetual futures, which allow traders to take leveraged positions without an expiration date.

President Donald Trump said earlier this week that US regulators are working to bring Hyperliquid, one of the largest crypto perpetual futures platforms, into the US market.

Sprecher said ICE is not currently focused on offering perpetual futures because the products do not align closely with its customer base, which is primarily composed of firms using derivatives for hedging.

He described perpetual futures as primarily speculative products and said they do not create the forward pricing curves used by ICE customers.

Perpetual futures have gained broader attention after seeing increased use during the Iran war, when crypto based markets remained available while some traditional futures venues were closed.