Coinbase Ventures and CMCC Global have closed a strategic funding round with Raven, an institutional market maker that continuously quotes buy and sell orders on prediction-market contracts, CNBC reported on September 29, 2026.
Disclaimer: News content is based on public news sources and provided for information only. It does not constitute investment advice.
Coinbase Ventures and CMCC Global closed a strategic funding round with Raven, a trading firm that acts as an institutional market maker for prediction markets, according to CNBC. The report, dated September 29, 2026, names the two investors but does not include the size of the investment, the valuation, or the structure of the deal. Both backers are established in digital-asset venture investing: Coinbase Ventures is the investment arm of the publicly listed crypto exchange Coinbase, while CMCC Global is a Hong Kong-based blockchain-focused investment firm. The involvement of two institutional venture investors, rather than only trading firms or individual backers, places Raven within the broader category of market-structure and liquidity infrastructure for event-based contracts.
Raven's role, as described in the source, is to generate constant buy and sell orders on prediction-market contracts. Prediction markets let participants trade contracts whose value depends on whether a specific event occurs, such as an election outcome or an economic data release. A market maker continuously quotes both sides of the order book, which allows other participants to trade without waiting for a natural counterparty. This matters because prediction markets often list many separate contracts, each tied to a distinct event, and liquidity can fragment across those contracts. Such firms typically manage inventory and aim to earn the spread between bids and offers rather than express a directional view on the underlying events.
Prediction markets have moved from a niche category toward a more visible part of financial technology, helped by regulated venues in the United States and crypto-native platforms that settle trades onchain. The 2024 U.S. election cycle brought unusually high public attention to event contracts, and venture investors have since funded exchanges, data providers, and back-office tools in the sector. Raven's funding fits that pattern: as volumes and the number of listed contracts grow, operational requirements such as pricing, risk management, and connectivity become more demanding. A specialized institutional market maker is one sign that the sector is building the intermediaries common in older derivatives markets, rather than relying solely on retail order flow. The presence of venture capital also links prediction markets to the broader crypto investment ecosystem, since both Coinbase Ventures and CMCC Global focus on digital-asset companies.
Raven is an institutional market maker focused on prediction markets, according to CNBC. Its stated function is to generate continuous buy and sell orders on event contracts, providing liquidity rather than operating an exchange itself.
Coinbase Ventures and CMCC Global closed a strategic funding round with Raven, as reported on September 29, 2026. Coinbase Ventures is the investment arm of the crypto exchange Coinbase, and CMCC Global is a Hong Kong-based blockchain investment firm.
Prediction markets are venues where participants trade contracts whose payout depends on the outcome of a specific event, such as an election or an economic data release. Contract prices are generally understood to reflect the market's implied probability of that event occurring, and such venues can be either regulated financial platforms or crypto-native and onchain.
Prediction markets typically list many separate contracts tied to distinct events, which can spread liquidity thin across the order book. A market maker continuously quotes both buy and sell prices, allowing other participants to trade without waiting for a matching counterparty and helping to narrow the gap between bids and offers.
The funding round at a glance
What an institutional market maker does in prediction markets
Why prediction markets are drawing infrastructure capital
What the investors bring
Open questions and regulatory context
This article is rewritten from public news sources and further processed by AI. It is provided for information only and does not constitute investment advice — refer to the original source for the authoritative version.
Coinbase Ventures has backed a wide range of crypto infrastructure, exchange, and custody companies, giving it visibility into how trading venues are built and regulated. CMCC Global, based in Hong Kong, invests across blockchain and digital-asset businesses and provides a base in Asian markets, where crypto trading activity is significant. A strategic round of this kind can go beyond capital: it can connect a market maker to exchange relationships, custody arrangements, and regional market access. For Raven, that combination could matter as prediction markets expand across jurisdictions with different licensing rules. The specific strategic terms, however, were not included in the source report.
The most immediate unknown is the scale of the round: without a disclosed amount, valuation, or ownership stake, the transaction's financial significance cannot be assessed from the public report. It is also unclear which prediction-market venues Raven currently serves or plans to serve, and whether its market-making mandate covers crypto-settled contracts, regulated U.S. event contracts, or both. Regulation remains a moving part: in the United States, event contracts fall under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the rules governing which contracts may be listed continue to be debated. Because market makers depend on predictable venue rules and settlement, any regulatory shift can affect how liquidity is supplied. For now, the confirmed facts are the investors, the target, and Raven's stated function. Based on public news sources.
The source report summarized here does not include the funding amount, the valuation, or the ownership structure of the deal. Without those figures, the financial scale of the transaction cannot be determined from the public announcement.
It indicates continued venture interest in market-structure and liquidity infrastructure for prediction markets, linking crypto-focused investors with event-contract trading. A dedicated institutional market maker suggests the sector is developing specialized intermediaries similar to those found in older derivatives markets.
