Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Coinbase has agreed to acquire The Clearing Company, a startup with experience in prediction markets.
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The acquisition will help grow Coinbase’s newly launched platform.
Coinbase to Acquire The Clearing Company
Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, announced on Monday that it had agreed to acquire The Clearing Company to help grow its newly launched prediction market.
This latest development comes as part of Coinbase’s plan to become an all-in-one platform for trading everything.
The Clearing Company is a San Francisco-based startup led by Toni Gemayel, who has worked extensively in the industry, including as the head of growth at prediction market Kalshi. Coinbase didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in January and could make Coinbase one of the leading prediction platforms in the market. The predictions market is gaining traction, recording over $4 billion in weekly volume.
Last week, Coinbase began allowing users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events in partnership with Kalshi. The events range from political elections and economic reports to cultural moments and sports.
According to the crypto exchange, the deal will bring in a team with specialized experience building and scaling event-based trading systems. Veterans from Polymarket and a former chief compliance officer at Kalshi will join Coinbase once the deal is closed.
Last week, Coinbase announced plans to expand the functionality available on its platform to include novel cryptocurrencies, perpetual futures contracts, stocks, and prediction markets. This is part of its plan to position itself as the “Everything Exchange.”
In addition to Coinbase, other leading trading platforms, including Kraken, Robinhood, and Gemini, have already started launching equity trading and prediction markets to their users.
