American sports betting platform DraftKings is tapping Polymarket as the clearinghouse for its new prediction market, an industry that clocks over $4 billion in monthly trading volume.
“Congrats to DraftKings on their acquisition of Railbird. We’re proud for Polymarket Clearing to be their designated clearinghouse as they enter the prediction market space,” Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said in an X post on Wednesday.
Railbird is a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated predictions market platform, which DraftKings acquired for an undisclosed amount on Tuesday.
Polymarket’s clearinghouse is needed to verify trades, hold collateral and ensure all bets or contracts are settled fairly and securely — preventing defaults, reducing counterparty risk and maintaining trust between participants.
The new “DraftKings Predictions” is expected to debut as a mobile app in “the coming months,” covering all markets from finance and culture to entertainment.
“The product will have the flexibility to connect to multiple exchanges, enabling DraftKings to offer one of the broadest suites of markets to its customers,” DraftKings said.
It marks the first major crypto move DraftKings has made since shuttering its nonfungible token marketplace in July 2024 and further cements Polymarket’s dominance in the predictions market sector.
Polymarket acquired its clearinghouse through the purchase of US derivatives exchange QCEX for $112 million in June, when it reentered the US market after more than two years.
Polymarket made big moves this month
Polymarket has already had a strong month of integrations, including Sam Altman’s identity-focused World App on Tuesday and crypto wallet MetaMask, which expects its integration to take place before the end of the year.
The New York Stock Exchange’s parent — Intercontinental Exchange — also made a $2 billion investment in Polymarket, marking the company’s valuation up to $9 billion amid increased competition with Kalshi, which also has a multibillion-dollar valuation.
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Railbird was founded in 2021, but only won regulatory approval from the CFTC as a designated contract market in June.
Prediction markets are popping in October
Prediction markets are hotter than ever, with Polymarket and Kalshi already combining for over $4.63 billion in trading volume across the first 23 days in October — smashing last month’s previous record of $4.17 billion, DefiLlama data shows.
Kalshi’s $2.87 billion in trading volume this month already marks its highest monthly total to date.
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