Overview
- Coinbase agreed to acquire The Clearing Company with closing expected in January 2026, and it did not disclose terms as it characterized the deal as immaterial.
- The acquisition comes days after Coinbase launched event-contract trading through Kalshi inside the same app used for crypto, derivatives and stocks.
- The Clearing Company filed in November to become a CFTC-registered Derivatives Clearing Organization, a step that could support on‑shore clearing for event contracts.
- Nearly all of the startup’s roughly 10 employees, led by founder Toni Gemayel and including veterans from Polymarket and Kalshi, are expected to join Coinbase.
- Coinbase is seeking federal preemption in court, suing Michigan, Illinois and Connecticut to assert CFTC authority over prediction-market regulation.