Donald Trump

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Federal agents from the FBI seized mobile devices owned by Polymarket Shayne Coplan after users on his Polygon-based correctly predicted Donald Trump’s victory.
The New York Post reported that Federal Bureau of Investigation officers <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/business/fbi-seizes-polymarket-ceos-phone-electronics-after-betting-platform-predicts-trump-win-source/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">impounded</a> Coplan’s devices during a 6 AM search at his Soho property on Nov. 13. A source with intimate knowledge of the matter reportedly said Polymarket’s CEO was woken by FBI agents but not given reasons for the probe.
Coplan has not made a public statement regarding the incident and has remained relatively inactive on X since his victory lap following the election results.
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 Polymarket helped people go to bed early on election night, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@elonmusk</a> included. <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://t.co/gGtzja2Vle" target="_blank">https://t.co/gGtzja2Vle</a>— Shayne Coplan (@shayne_coplan) <a href="https://twitter.com/shayne_coplan/status/1854993208771854800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">November 8, 2024</a>
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What the unnamed source described as “grand political theater at its worst” came a week after Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential electoral polls. Polymarket users traded over $3 billion on who would win. Odds on the platform suggested Trump would emerge on top weeks before the election, raising eyebrows in the U.S.
The FBI’s bust could be an inquiry into Polymarket’s operations, the source told the NYP. If true, executives at companies like Kalshi and Robinhood may be next on the Fed’s list. Kalshi <a href="https://crypto.news/crypto-stablecoin-deposits-coming-to-kalshis-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">launched</a> its event contract for the presidential race after <a href="https://crypto.news/kalshi-election-betting-markets-to-resume-court-rules/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">beating</a> the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in court. Robinhood <a href="https://crypto.news/robinhood-enters-u-s-presidential-prediction-market/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">followed</a> later with its own event market.
You might also like: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://crypto.news/french-bettor-wins-79m-on-pro-trump-polymarket-bets-government-threatens-to-ban-site/"> French bettor wins $79m on pro-Trump Polymarket bets, government threatens to ban site </a>
Presidential betting contracts were all the rage during this year’s election cycle. Data from these venues were constantly compared against national polls. They sometimes received backlash for supposed wash trading and were accused of being influenced by either party.
Skepticism came to a head when a New York Times article said Polymarket’s contracts were <a href="https://crypto.news/polymarket-ceo-rebuffs-partisan-claims-from-new-york-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">manipulated</a> by a large pro-Trump user. The whale, <a href="https://crypto.news/polymarket-identifies-one-trader-driving-trump-bet-activity-on-platform/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">revealed</a> to be a French national, clarified that his big bets were based on voting patterns and encouraged by skewed national polling data.
Theo4 bagged $79 million across four accounts as Polymarket users accurately predicted a Trump victory. Coplan’s company rose even higher in the mainstream spotlight as a venue for accurate user-driven outcomes for real-world events.
The prominence brought a new wave of scrutiny of Polymarket. As crypto.news <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://crypto.news/french-bettor-wins-79m-on-pro-trump-polymarket-bets-government-threatens-to-ban-site/">reported</a>, the French government threatened to ban Coplan’s site and block users from betting on the French elections.
Read more: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://crypto.news/crypto-critic-sen-warren-named-ranking-dem-on-banking-committee/"> Crypto-critic Sen. Warren named ranking Dem on Banking Committee </a>

Polymarket CEO probed by FBI after Trump’s triumph

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