Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction-market platform, is raising $1 billion in a new funding round that values the company at $21 billion on a post-money basis.
The round is being led by 1789 Capital, the venture firm co-founded by Donald Trump Jr., which is expected to contribute around $300 million of the total.
That comes on top of roughly $200 million that 1789 Capital had already put into Polymarket, taking the firm's combined stake to around $500 million once the round closes.
A rapid jump in value
The new valuation marks a 40% increase from the $15 billion price tag Polymarket secured in April, when it brought in backers including D.E. Shaw and venture firm G Squared.
Bloomberg had reported earlier in the month that Polymarket was already in early talks to raise capital at a valuation above $20 billion.
The Intercontinental Exchange, parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, remains Polymarket's largest shareholder with a stake of around 22%.
Trump family ties deepen
1789 Capital first made a strategic investment in Polymarket last year, around the same time Donald Trump Jr. joined the company's advisory board as a partner at the firm.
The Trump family's links to prediction markets have widened as Donald Trump's administration has broadly supported the industry and pushed back against efforts by individual states to regulate it.
Congressional Democrats have opened an inquiry into 1789 Capital's expansion and its ties to sectors that are federally supervised, according to reports.
Building out institutional credibility
Polymarket has spent the past year courting institutional users, striking partnerships with firms including Palantir and pursuing regulatory approval to offer margin trading to professional investors in the United States.
The company has also strengthened its market surveillance operation, appointing former FBI investigator Shana Bautista as global head of investigations and intelligence and adopting machine learning and blockchain analytics tools to flag suspicious trading activity.
Polymarket has been rebuilding its position in the domestic market after acquiring a federally regulated exchange, giving it a route back into the United States having previously restricted access for American users.
A crowded and contested market
The fundraising underscores how quickly investor appetite for event-based trading platforms has grown, spanning elections, economic data and sporting outcomes.
Rival Kalshi was valued at $22 billion in a funding round in May and is reportedly in talks to raise fresh capital at a valuation of up to $40 billion.
Polymarket also faces an unresolved regulatory dispute with several state governments over who has authority to oversee prediction markets, a fight that some observers believe could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
The $21 billion figure places Polymarket among the most highly valued private companies in fintech and crypto, reflecting how far prediction markets have moved from a niche curiosity toward a mainstream financial product in the space of a few years.
