New Prediction Markets Platform Hopes for Onchain Success

The Clearing Company, a newly launched prediction market platform, announced this week that it has raised $15 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by Union Square Ventures and included investments from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Variant and a number of other investors.

The Clearing Company's logo on a white background. (Source: The Clearing Company)
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The platform is being led by CEO Toni Gemayel, who previously held leadership roles in growth at both Polymarket and Kalshi. The company’s goal is to build a permissionless, onchain, and regulated prediction market designed to improve transparency and broaden accessibility for event-based trading.

Related: Ohio Commission Warns Sportsbooks over Prediction Markets

Gemayel has recruited several former Polymarket employees to join the project, reflecting the company’s strategy of drawing on experienced talent from within the sector. The launch comes during a period of renewed energy in prediction markets, which are increasingly being viewed as a blend of financial trading instruments and consumer-facing wagering platforms.

Additional support for the round came from Asylum, Compound, Cursor Capital, Earl Grey, Rubik, and multiple angel investors. The Clearing Company enters this competitive space with strong financial backing and a leadership team with deep experience in prediction markets.

Polymarket, one of the best-known prediction market companies, recently reported more than 286,000 active traders in July. This marked the end of six consecutive months of user decline, suggesting renewed momentum.

Kalshi has expanded its operational strategy by bringing in John Wang, a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency community, as head of crypto strategy. These moves underscore the competitive environment that The Clearing Company is entering.

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Prediction Markets Only Testing the Regulatory Waters

Competition is also poised to grow as traditional financial technology platforms explore prediction markets. Robinhood has announced plans to work with Kalshi to introduce sports-related prediction contracts.

At the same time, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed concern that many prediction platforms lack features such as paying interest on deposits, limiting their usefulness for hedging. Despite such critiques, The Clearing Company’s funding round has attracted substantial backing from investors who believe in the potential of regulated and blockchain-based market infrastructure.

The surge in funding and partnerships across the industry is taking place as Polymarket prepares to re-enter the US market after a 2022 exit. The company has initiated a waitlist and rolled out a nationwide advertising campaign indicating that its sports contracts could be available across all 50 states by the 2025 NFL season.

Marketing placed through Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, has promoted slogans suggesting that football trading will soon be legal nationwide.

Polymarket recently acquired a federally registered exchange that will allow it to operate legally in the US. Its strategy has been to focus on football contracts and highlight states that currently prohibit traditional sports betting. One of its advertising campaigns features a map of the U.S. marking states without legalized sports wagering, signaling its intent to attract users from markets that remain closed to sportsbooks.

The company has emphasized that its products should be considered financial contracts regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than gambling offerings. This approach mirrors Kalshi’s strategy of positioning event contracts within financial regulation frameworks.

However, Polymarket’s consumer-facing campaigns resemble sportsbook promotions, with some advertisements comparing its contract odds directly to those offered by DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM. This dual strategy reflects both the regulatory challenge of distinguishing prediction markets from gambling operators and the marketing challenge of appealing to consumers already accustomed to sports betting platforms.

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