Coinbase Acquires Prediction Markets Startup The Clearing Company to Strengthen Its Position

This move is part of Coinbase's strategy to expand its recently launched prediction markets product in partnership with Kalshi, and it highlights the growing interest in this segment of the crypto industry, where trading volumes have already exceeded billions of dollars.

The Clearing Company, founded in early 2025 by Tonio Gemayel (former growth lead at Polymarket and Kalshi), raised $15 million in a seed round in August of this year. Investors included Coinbase Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Variant, Haun Ventures, and others. The startup was developing a platform for on-chain prediction markets that combines permissionless access with regulatory compliance, making it accessible to retail users. The team of about 10 people will join Coinbase to scale the product, and the deal, which includes a combination of cash and Coinbase stock, is expected to close in January 2026, subject to standard reviews. Financial details are not disclosed, but a Coinbase representative noted that the amount is "insignificant."

"Prediction markets work best when strong market structure is combined with real-world distribution. Joining Coinbase gives our team the opportunity to apply what we've learned about event-based markets on a much larger scale," said Tonio Gemayel in a comment to The Block.

For his part, Max Branzburg, Coinbase's vice president of product management, emphasized:

"More and more of the financial system is moving on-chain, and prediction markets are part of this shift. By combining the expertise of The Clearing Company team with Coinbase's global platform, we can help bring this category to a broader audience and support developers who want to innovate on top of it."

This acquisition marks Coinbase's tenth in 2025, following deals with Roam, Spindl, Iron Fish, Deribit, Opyn Markets, Liquifi, Sensible, Echo, and Vector.fun. The company continues to diversify its business beyond spot cryptocurrency trading, focusing on highly interactive products tied to real-world events such as elections, sports competitions, or economic indicators. The recent launch of prediction markets on the Coinbase platform, with liquidity from Kalshi, already demonstrates potential: in November 2025, combined trading volumes on Polymarket and Kalshi reached about $8 billion, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard.

Prediction markets are gaining momentum in the crypto industry as exchanges and fintech platforms seek new ways to engage users. Analysts predict further growth, especially considering regulatory easing in the US. Acquiring The Clearing Company could help Coinbase become a "universal exchange" for crypto, stocks, derivatives, and event betting, intensifying competition with platforms like Polymarket, which showed explosive growth from $9 billion in 2024 to record levels in 2025.