NYSE Owner Completes $1.6 Billion Polymarket Stake With $600 Million Cash Injection

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) invested $600 million in cash into Polymarket, completing a funding plan that gives the New York Stock Exchange owner a roughly $1.6 billion stake in the world’s largest prediction market. Intercontinental Exchange initially invested $1 billion in October, with a commitment to ramp up to as much as $2 billion over time. The company also expects to purchase up to $40 million in Polymarket securities from existing holders. • Intercontinental Exchange stock is showing downward bias. What’s next for ICE stock? Prediction Market Funding Boom The investment lands amid a flood of institutional capital into the sector. Rival Kalshi raised more than $1 billion earlier this month at a $22 billion valuation, roughly double its previous mark. Polymarket’s valuation for this round has not been disclosed, but a Messari valuation report pegged the platform’s $20 billion target as potentially conservative given its fee trajectory. Prediction markets processed $23.2 billion in volume in February 2026, up over 1,200% year-over-year. On March 30, Polymarket is set to implement taker fees across nearly all categories for the first time. With $9.55 billion in recent 30-day volume, annualized fee revenue may approach $300 million. Building The Infrastructure Intercontinental Exchange is the exclusive distributor of Polymarket’s event-driven data to institutional investors. Polymarket acquired a licensed exchange and clearinghouse earlier this year and partnered with Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) and TWG AI to build an AI-powered surveillance system for its sports markets following a string of insider trading controversies. Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has filed to list binary options on the Nasdaq-100. Cboe Global Markets (BATS:CBOE) is targeting the second quarter for a competing product. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev has called prediction markets the fastest-growing business in company history. The sector has political tailwinds and headwinds. President Donald Trump recently praised prediction markets as superior to “fake polls,” but TD Cowen analysts warned that mounting legislative pressure could reshape the regulatory landscape by 2028. Intercontinental Exchange said the investment is not expected to have a material impact on its financial results or capital return plans. Shares were down 0.89% at $154.62 at publication on Friday. Image: Shutterstock