Over the past few years, one event in the development trajectory of prediction markets has been significant enough to be recorded as a milestone in the history of the crypto industry.

On January 8, 2026, Dow Jones officially announced a major news: its subsidiary, The Wall Street Journal, reached an exclusive prediction market partnership with Polymarket. Leading financial media such as Bloomberg and the Financial Times also followed up with reports.

Don’t underestimate this partnership. It’s not just a routine “going mainstream” marketing move; it could be the most critical mainstream integration event for prediction markets and the entire crypto track to date.

For a long time, the cooperation models between crypto companies and the traditional world have been quite simple. Polkadot spent tens of millions of dollars sponsoring Inter Miami, where Messi plays; Crypto.com spent about $700 million to name the Lakers’ home court—these collaborations were indeed grand, but they didn’t change the fundamental perception of crypto in traditional finance circles. Simply put, you spend money to buy traffic, I provide platform exposure, and there’s no real business intersection between the two.

This time, Polymarket is taking a completely different approach.

The key change here lies in the identity positioning. Polymarket has shifted from a sponsor to a data provider. When The Wall Street Journal cites Polymarket’s prediction results, it’s not just for promotional support, but to use it as a market data source with news and financial value. This means prediction markets are no longer simply seen as marketing gimmicks but are integrated into the traditional financial information system.

This is the true business-level integration—the data and value behind crypto technology are recognized and applied by traditional finance.