Coinbase (COIN) said it agreed to buy The Clearing Company to help grow its newly launched prediction market as part of the crypto exchange’s plan to become an all-in-one platform for trading everything.
San Francisco-based The Clearing Company is a startup led by Toni Gemayel, who has worked extensively in the industry, including as head of growth at prediction marketplace Kalshi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The transaction, which is expected to close in January, comes as prediction markets pick up steam, with weekly notional volume now at $4 billion, according to Dune analytics data. Last week, Coinbase began letting users trade the results of real-world events in partnership with Kalshi. The events range from political elections and economic reports to cultural moments and sports.
Coinbase said the deal will bring in a team with specialized experience in building and scaling event-based trading systems. It includes veterans at Polymarket, a blockchain-based platform, as well as a former chief compliance officer at Kalshi.
Last week, the exchange said it plans to expand the functionality available on its platform to include new cryptocurrencies, perpetual futures contracts and stocks, as well as prediction markets.
It is using the initiative to position itself as the “Everything Exchange.” The company’s rivals, including Robinhood, Kraken and Gemini, have already started launching stock trading and prediction markets to their users.
In August, The Clearing Company raised $15 million in a seed round led by Union Square Ventures and in which Coinbase Ventures participated. Last month, it applied for a license to operate a clearinghouse from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Read more: Prediction markets beat Wall Street in inflation forecasts, Kalshi says
