Polymarket acquires Brahma to strengthen onchain infrastructure

Polymarket has acquired crypto and DeFi infrastructure startup Brahma in a move designed to improve the user experience of its blockchain-based prediction market platform while reinforcing its long-term commitment to onchain market infrastructure, according to a report by Fortune. The acquisition reflects Polymarket’s strategy of reducing user-facing crypto complexity without abandoning the blockchain rails that underpin its trading model. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Polymarket, which has emerged as one of the two leading prediction market platforms globally, has built its product on blockchain rails since inception. While that architecture provides efficiency, composability, and transparent settlement, it can also introduce friction for mainstream users unfamiliar with wallets, token conversions, and onchain transaction flows. By acquiring Brahma, Polymarket is signaling that its next growth phase will focus on abstracting away those technical barriers while preserving the benefits of crypto-native infrastructure.

“Building reliable infrastructure across blockchain networks and traditional financial rails is hard—there are no shortcuts,” said Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket. He added that the Brahma team has demonstrated an ability to design, operate, and scale complex products for sophisticated users.

Reducing blockchain friction for mainstream users

The acquisition is expected to help Polymarket make its platform easier to use by minimizing some of the operational friction associated with onchain prediction markets. For users, that could mean smoother onboarding, easier wallet creation, simplified deposits, more seamless asset conversion, and faster redemption of outcome tokens after markets resolve.

Brahma co-founder Alessandro Tenconi said the startup’s infrastructure can help remove friction around core user actions such as creating a wallet, depositing funds, converting shares, and redeeming outcome tokens. These are critical steps in prediction market participation, and streamlining them could help Polymarket appeal to a broader base of retail and institutional users who want exposure to event-driven markets without navigating complex DeFi workflows.

The move also highlights a strategic distinction between Polymarket and its প্রধান competitor Kalshi. While Kalshi largely operates using fiat rails, Polymarket has continued to rely on blockchain infrastructure as the foundation of its product. Rather than moving away from crypto rails, Polymarket appears to be doubling down on them—while making them less visible to the end user.

Deeper liquidity for niche prediction markets

Beyond user experience, Brahma could also strengthen liquidity across thinner and more specialized prediction contracts. Larger markets tied to politics, sports, or major global events naturally attract significant capital and trading activity. However, smaller or more niche contracts often struggle to reach meaningful liquidity levels.

Brahma’s infrastructure track record

Founded in 2021 by Alessandro Tenconi, Akanshu Jain, and Bapi Reddy Karri, Brahma has focused on helping both companies and individual users interact with DeFi at scale. The startup says it has processed more than $1 billion in transactions, building infrastructure that supports digital asset management and decentralized finance workflows.

That transaction volume gives Polymarket access to a team with proven experience in handling operational complexity across blockchain-based financial systems. Once integrated into Polymarket, Brahma will wind down its work with other companies and individuals, indicating that its resources will be fully dedicated to the prediction market platform going forward.

The acquisition also fits into a broader talent-driven expansion strategy for Polymarket. In February, the company acquired Y Combinator-backed startup Dome to strengthen its developer tooling. It also acquired boutique executive search firm Lunch the same month. Together, these deals suggest Polymarket is using targeted acquisitions not just for product expansion, but also to consolidate engineering, infrastructure, and organizational capabilities as it scales.

Tenconi said his first contact with Coplan came unexpectedly through a late-night Telegram message in September, followed by a call just minutes later. He described the initial conversation as one focused on speed, quality, and technical execution. “It was like builders talking to builders,” he said, adding that the deal developed naturally from there.

As prediction markets continue to attract mainstream attention and institutional capital, Polymarket’s acquisition of Brahma underscores a broader industry trend: the winning crypto products may be the ones that keep blockchain at the core while making it nearly invisible at the surface.