Polymarket partners with Nasdaq for private company bets

This article appeared as part of the Daily Sensemaker newsletter – one story a day to make sense of the world. To receive it in your inbox, featuring content exclusive to the newsletter, sign up for free here.

Polymarket now allows gamblers to stake money on outcomes tied to the performance of private companies after agreeing a deal with Nasdaq Private ‌Market, a secondary trading platform. With NPM, backed by Nasdaq, serving as the authority for the resolution of contracts, Polymarket users will be able to gamble on valuation milestones and IPO timing for startups. Such bets have previously been the reserve of Wall Street insiders, with retail investors limited to wagers on large companies in the public eye. But Polymarket is never far from trouble. Irish officials have said they will investigate suspicious betting patterns in a Dublin byelection.