A screen displays the ticker symbol and logo for Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) -Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of New York Stock Exchange, said on Tuesday it would invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket, valuing the world's biggest predictions market at around $8 billion pre-money.

Reuters had reported earlier this year that Polymarket was close to securing a valuation of more than $1 billion in a funding round led by billionaire Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.

The deal marks a vote of confidence for Polymarket from a major financial institution, as it prepares to re-enter the U.S. market more than three years after restricting American users under a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating an unregistered derivatives trading platform.

Polymarket allows users to profit from predicting outcomes across a wide range of topics, including sports, entertainment, politics and economy. Trading in event-based contracts has surged in popularity since the U.S. presidential election last year. Among the platform's currently trending markets is "when will the government shutdown end?"

The company had also secured an undisclosed investment from Donald Trump Jr-backed venture capital firm 1789 Capital in August.

Shares of Intercontinental rose 4.4% in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)