Coinbase (COIN) said it agreed to acquire The Clearing Company to help grow its newly launched prediction markets, part of the cryptocurrency exchange’s plan to become an all-in-one platform for everything traded.
San Francisco-based The Clearing Company is a startup led by Toni Gemayel, who has extensive experience working in the industry, including as head of growth at prediction market Kalshi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal is expected to close in January and the market is expected to heat up, with weekly notional trading volume now topping $4 billion, according to Dune Analytics. Last week, Coinbase began working with Kalshi to let users trade based on the outcomes of real-world events. Events range from political elections and economic reports to cultural moments and sporting events.
Coinbase said the deal will bring in a team with expertise in building and scaling event-based trading systems. Among them are veterans of blockchain-based platform Polymarket, as well as Kalshi’s former chief compliance officer.
Last week, the exchange said it planned to expand the features available on its platform to include new cryptocurrencies, perpetual futures contracts and stocks, and prediction markets.
It used the move to position itself as an “everything exchange.” The company’s competitors, including Robinhood, Kraken and Gemini, have begun rolling out stock trading and prediction markets to users.
In August, The Clearing Company raised $15 million in a seed round led by Union Square Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures. Last month, it applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for a license to operate a clearing house.
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