Coinbase Deepens Prediction Markets Push With Acquisition Of The Clearing Company

• Coinbase intends to eventually allow users to trade every asset class through its “Everything Exchange.”
• The company said prediction markets are a “natural fit” for this vision.
• The Clearing Co.’s team includes several prediction market veterans who have worked at Polymarket and Kalshi.

Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) on Monday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Clearing Company as it looks to bolster its recently announced prediction markets offering.

The company stated that The Clearing Co.’s team brings deep expertise to help scale up prediction markets on its platform, adding that this will accelerate its roadmap toward being the “Everything Exchange.”

“Toni and the team will help scale world-class prediction markets trading on Coinbase and accelerate our ambitions for this exciting category as part of the Everything Exchange,” Coinbase stated in its announcement.

Coinbase shares were up more than 3% in Monday’s opening trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around both companies trended in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

What Does The Clearing Co. Do?

The Clearing Co.’s founder, Toni Gemayel, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the San Francisco-based startup aims to be a neutral back-end technology provider for brokerages. “We want to be Switzerland,” said Gemayel.

Last month, the startup filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to become a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). This would have allowed the company to operate a stablecoin-native clearinghouse purpose-built for prediction markets.

The Clearing Co.’s team includes several prediction market veterans who have previously worked at Polymarket and Kalshi, two of the largest prediction markets.

Booming Prediction Markets

The prediction market is booming, with companies like Polymarket and Kalshi eyeing multi-billion-dollar valuations. Kalshi is currently valued at $11 billion, while rival Polymarket was reportedly eyeing a valuation of $12 billion to $15 billion.

Last week, sports betting company DraftKings Inc. (DKNG) announced its entry into prediction markets with the launch of a dedicated app, initially focused on sports and finance.

Coinbase intends to eventually allow users to trade every asset class through its “Everything Exchange.” The company said prediction markets are a “natural fit” for this vision.

COIN stock is up 2% year-to-date, but down 9% over the past 12 months.

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