Intercontinental Exchange Invests $2 Billion in Polymarket, S&P Dow Jones Launches New Crypto Index as Classic Financial Giants Accelerate Market Tokenization
Tokenization Becomes Wall Street’s New Race: ICE, S&P Dow Jones Enter Crypto
Last week, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announced a $2 billion investment in prediction markets platform Polymarket. On the same day, S&P Dow Jones Indices, the developer of the S&P 500 index, announced a partnership with fintech company Dinari to create a crypto-focused market index.
Both developments are united by one key word: tokenization.
What is tokenization and why is it important
Tokenization is the process of creating a digital identifier for a real asset that allows it to be traded on a blockchain.
In other words, stocks, bonds, or even real estate can be represented as tokens, similar to how Bitcoin (BTC) is traded.
While full tokenization of the stock market is still a long way off, financial giants are already testing its potential.
Companies like Robinhood and Coinbase have experimented with tokenized stocks, and now traditional stock exchange brands are starting to move in the same direction.
S&P launches “crypto-S&P 500”
S&P Dow Jones has announced the creation of a new index — the S&P Digital Markets 50, which will include the 15 largest cryptocurrencies and 35 US public companies related to blockchain and Web3.
“Cryptocurrencies and digital assets have gone from being a fringe phenomenon to a stable element of global markets,” said Cameron Drinkwater, chief operating officer of S&P Dow Jones.
The index is intended to be the S&P 500 for the crypto economy, giving investors “a transparent, structured way to evaluate the digital market.”
ICE bets on Polymarket
ICE’s $2 billion investment in Polymarket signals that the prediction market is becoming a new financial asset class. Polymarket is a blockchain platform where users place bets on political, sporting or economic events.
After being banned by the CFTC in 2022, the company is resuming operations in the US, competing with another player, Kalshi.
Now, with the support of the owner of the NYSE, Polymarket is gaining institutional status, which could bring prediction markets into the mainstream.
Why it matters
For ICE and S&P, this move has a dual purpose:
- New sources of profit in the face of stagnation in traditional markets.
- Protection from technological lag, as competitors in crypto finance are developing faster.
If in the past, financial giants “moved slowly so as not to make mistakes,” today they are running where the puck will be — towards tokenized assets, Web3 and decentralized finance.
