Polymarket founder and CEO Shane Coplan has pledged "strict non-partisanship" for the decentralized prediction platform ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.
"Given the recent New York Times article on Polymarket, now is the time to be clear: Polymarket is strictly nonpartisan. We are told that we are agents of the Democrats and MAGA, depending on the day. Unfortunately, the story is less juicy; we are simply market nerds who believe that prediction markets provide the public with a much-needed alternative data source," he wrote.
Polymarket's CEO also called the platform a "reality check" in an environment where algorithms feed audiences an endless stream of opinions based on what people already think, with the goal of pushing them further into an echo chamber.
“Polymarket is not about politics. […] Since launch, the goal has been to use the power of free markets to demystify the real events that matter most to you. This U.S. election cycle, we’ve been thrust into the spotlight as people are fed up with personalized news feeds, pundits, and polls that don’t match reality,” Koplan explained.
According to him, the platform's growing popularity correlates with the correct prediction of the current US President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the election race. Polymarket CEO expressed hope that politics will help society realize the value of market forecasts.
“It’s crazy that I have to say this, but it’s time to put an end to the narrative about [billionaire Peter] Thiel’s control. He has no direct contact or control over the company. Founders Fund, one of the most active VC funds and one of our 50+ investors, has a minority stake in the company with no board seat/control. And the partner who did the Polymarket deal isn’t even Thiel. His politics have no bearing on the operation of Polymarket — end of story,” Coplan said.
He also cited transparency and peer-to-peer nature as advantages of the platform.
In September, the media reported Polymarket's intention to raise $50 million and consider issuing tokens. In May, the platform closed two rounds of financing for a total of $70 million.
As a reminder, according to Layerhub's assessment, only 13.6% of Polymarket users made a profit, with most of them earning less than $100. In absolute terms, that's 24,565 wallets.
