Polymarket has acquired Dome, a Y Combinator-backed startup (Fall 2025 cohort) that built a unified API platform for prediction markets. The acquisition was announced and confirmed on February 19, 2026, via posts on X by Polymarket and Dome’s team.
Financial terms were not disclosed, marking this as Polymarket’s second known acquisition following its 2025 purchase of CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange QCEX to support its U.S. re-entry. Dome provided a unified API and SDKs that enabled developers to: Access real-time and historical data like market odds, trades, order books.
Trade and analyze across multiple prediction market platforms primarily Polymarket and Kalshi, with potential for more. Build applications, bots, dashboards, trading tools, or embed prediction features into third-party services with a single integration layer.
This lowered barriers for developers interested in algorithmic trading, data analysis, or integrating prediction markets into apps. The move focuses on enhancing developer tools and infrastructure: It strengthens Polymarket’s position as a leading platform by improving the developer experience.
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It aims to drive more liquidity through developer-generated flow; third-party apps embedding Polymarket markets. It supports Polymarket’s broader strategy to expand integrations, potentially into areas like sports, real estate, and beyond politics/crypto events.
Analysts view it as a bet on becoming the foundational infrastructure layer for the prediction markets sector, making it easier for builders to default to Polymarket. Dome’s co-founders including Kurush Dubash, formerly at Alchemy and team have joined Polymarket to continue advancing this mission.
This comes amid Polymarket’s growth, including recent partnerships with Substack for embedding live market data. The deal signals consolidation in the prediction markets space, boosting accessibility and innovation for developers and users alike.
The acquisition of Dome by Polymarket has several notable short- and medium-term impacts across the prediction markets sector, developer ecosystem, and Polymarket’s strategic positioning. Dome’s unified API; originally enabling single-integration access to data, trades, and analytics across platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi is now internalized.
This allows Polymarket to dramatically improve its own developer tools, reduce friction for builders, and create a more seamless experience for apps, bots, dashboards, algorithmic trading tools, and third-party integrations. Analysts describe it as Polymarket positioning itself as the “foundational infrastructure layer” or “default” for the industry—similar to how Bloomberg owns terminal access or AWS dominates cloud infrastructure.
By owning the aggregation layer, Polymarket can funnel developer-generated flow; automated bots, embedded markets in apps, or cross-platform tools preferentially toward its own platform. This creates a virtuous cycle: easier building ? more third-party apps ? increased trading volume and liquidity ? better odds accuracy ? more users/developers.
Polymarket gains insights into and potential influence over cross-platform activity, including on rival Kalshi. It reduces fragmentation in data access, making Polymarket the go-to hub for developers rather than forcing them to build separate integrations.
Dome’s team including co-founders from Alchemy joins Polymarket, accelerating roadmap execution on APIs, data reliability, and new features. This follows Polymarket’s prior QCEX acquisition; for U.S. regulatory access and signals a pattern of infrastructure-focused M&A to support expansion into sports, real estate, and beyond politics/crypto.
The deal highlights a shift toward owning the “plumbing” (APIs, data layers) rather than just front-end trading. It could spur more acquisitions or partnerships as platforms compete to control developer mindshare and reduce barriers to entry for algorithmic and automated trading.
Tools built on Dome may now default to or prioritize Polymarket’s deeper liquidity pools, potentially siphoning volume from competitors like Kalshi over time. This benefits overall market efficiency (tighter spreads, better pricing) but could pressure smaller venues.
Lower barriers for developers mean faster experimentation—e.g., more bots for arbitrage, AI-driven analysis, embedded predictions in media like Substack integrations, or new verticals. This democratizes access beyond manual retail traders toward institutional/algorithmic participants.
Third-party apps relying on Dome’s original cross-platform features now fall under Polymarket’s control, creating potential vendor lock-in or strategic shifts. Competitors may respond by accelerating their own API efforts or open-source alternatives.
Polymarket’s valuation sits around $9 billion post-QCEX, with massive 2025 volumes. Early reactions on X emphasize this as an “underrated” or “moat-building” move—focusing on long-term structural advantages over short-term hype. No major negative backlash has surfaced yet; instead, it’s viewed as validation of Polymarket’s ambition to dominate as the sector’s backbone.
This is less about immediate user-facing changes and more a foundational bet on developer-led growth. If executed well, it could solidify Polymarket’s lead in a still-fragmented but rapidly maturing industry.