IOSG Investment Fun: The Global Funding Gateway Behind Polymarket

*Author: [IOSG Ventures](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kCmXJ1O0EO37nRtqOHJynw)*

IOSG officially announces investment in Fun. We believe that the potential size of an internet market ultimately depends on whether funds can flow in and out smoothly.


Every internet market aims to serve global users. However, collecting money globally is never as simple as just connecting an interface; it involves a complex web of countries, currencies, payment methods, compliance systems, assets, and blockchain networks. Traditional fintech has to deal with fragmented banking channels, foreign exchange, anti-fraud measures, identity verification, and various regulations. Internet markets take all of this on, plus wallets, stablecoins, cross-chain bridges, gas fees, which chain to choose, token liquidity, and on-chain settlements. With each additional region, asset, or chain, the number of stable pathways required increases exponentially. Users may not see this layer of infrastructure, but they will inevitably encounter it at the two most critical moments: when money comes in and when money goes out. If deposits are slow and convoluted, users will drop off at the registration step; if withdrawals are unreliable, trust is lost, and users will not return.

### 1. The 30 Seconds When Traders Get Stuck on Deposits

When a new trader wants to place a bet on an election on Polymarket, the money they have is USDC on Base, but Polymarket requires assets on Polygon. With no gas on the other chain, clicking the "Deposit" button brings up a series of incomprehensible options.

Every step is a door that can lead users away, and most people actually do leave. They don’t complain, don’t submit tickets, they just close the page. Users that the platform paid for are lost just like that.

The reverse is also true. If users win money and want to withdraw it to their bank account, if they have to wait three days and navigate four pages, they will deposit less next time. **Deposits determine whether users come, and withdrawals determine whether users return.**

For financial platforms, this is not a minor detail in payment. It is both the top of the funnel and the last line of the profit and loss statement.

### 2. The Fastest Growing Table

On the other side of the button are the platforms that are currently growing the fastest in the crypto industry:

* **Prediction Markets**: Kalshi and Polymarket transacted about **$45 billion** in just one month in June 2026. In September 2025, this monthly figure was less than $5 billion.

* **On-chain Perpetual Contract Exchanges**: Now transacting hundreds of billions of dollars each month.

* **Stablecoins**: The total supply of money circulating between these platforms has exceeded **$300 billion**.

The table is also expanding beyond the crypto circle. Mainstream sports and consumer brands are starting to create their own markets, bringing users with bank cards, not wallets.

The same rule applies everywhere: every application is becoming a market, and how large a market can grow depends on how much money can flow in smoothly.

### 3. What Fun Is Doing

Fun is building a global funding gateway for internet markets. Fiat channels, currencies, assets, wallets, and blockchain networks, which originally operated separately, are integrated into a single embedded system by Fun, making it extremely simple for end users to deposit funds into the platform, circulate them between platforms, and withdraw them.

In terms of product, this boils down to four things:

* **Deposits**: Users can have any asset in any location; when funds arrive, they will be in the format the application requires.

* **Withdrawals**: Withdrawals can be made to any chain or directly to a bank. Liquidity is managed by Fun, with instant settlement for withdrawals.

* **Routing Orchestration**: The underlying routing layer always selects the fastest and cheapest path, including directing funds to bank accounts opened for users on regulated platforms.

* **Payment Settlement**: Covering over 150 countries and more than 50 payment methods, supporting multi-party revenue sharing and escrow, so the same set of channels can support both trading and marketplace/e-commerce.

**Fun chooses depth.** Many tools can superficially connect to thousands of applications, but Fun focuses on the few that truly have volume, because at their scale, every basis point of conversion, every failed deposit, and every slow withdrawal counts in millions of dollars.

Just look at who is using it. The world's largest on-chain prediction market, Polymarket, processes every deposit and withdrawal through Fun. The same set of channels also operates under Lighter and Aave, the former being one of the largest on-chain perpetual contract exchanges, and the latter being a leading lending market, along with several other undisclosed platforms. On an annualized basis, Fun is currently handling a volume of $100 billion across all clients.

Fun was founded by **Alex Fine** in 2022. Alex launched his first application at the age of sixteen, later attended Stanford, and managed a crypto quantitative fund. He is an exceptional operator, personally handling sales and onboarding for most key clients. He also has vision: the concept of a universal account was relatively unknown until he promoted it as an important investment category, and now any consumer application involving digital currency cannot do without this foundational component.

### 4. The Logic of Betting

**Today, two interfaces are offering nearly identical products, but the one running on Fun has a much higher chance of success. If money cannot be transferred smoothly, the user experience is interrupted right at the first step, which is the account deposit.**

The next wave of internet platforms will operate as global markets: prediction markets, exchanges, tokenized assets, sports, and iGaming platforms, all involving real money. Each must serve users scattered across different countries, currencies, payment methods, compliance systems, wallets, and chains. Building this infrastructure from scratch would take years and divert resources that should be spent on the market itself.

**Every emerging internet market needs a global layer that allows funds to flow in, move smoothly, and flow out without friction. Fun is doing just that.**