what happen?
During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the encrypted prediction market platform Polymarket became a popular platform for many bettors, with more than $3.7 billion in funds betting on the "2024 presidential election results" market.
On November 13, the FBI raided Polymarket founder and CEO Shane. Shayne Coplan's New York residence and his cell phone and electronic devices were seized.
A Polymarket spokesperson responded to the raid saying that the action was "obvious political revenge" by the current U.S. government against Polymarket because Polymarket accurately predicted the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Early morning FBI raid, Polymarket founder’s electronic devices seized
The raid occurred at 6 a.m. on November 13. The authorities knocked on the door without prior notice and asked Polymarket founder and CEO Shane to hand over his mobile phone and other equipment.
According to the (New York Post) report, people familiar with the matter revealed that the FBI did not arrest Shane, but the incident quickly attracted widespread attention and questions about political motives.
A Polymarket spokesperson quickly responded to the raid, saying that this wave of actions was an "obvious political revenge" by the current U.S. government against Polymarket because the platform had accurately predicted the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election before the election.
It is unclear what prompted the FBI to search for Shane, but the spokesperson emphasized that Polymarket, as a transparent market platform, does not charge fees from transactions or hold any trading positions, and all market data is available to the public to help users learn more. Understand global events well.
Shane himself posted a post on the X platform afterwards, implying in a humorous way that the seized equipment had been taken over by the FBI, and said that the current government was making a last-ditch effort to track down companies they believed were related to political opponents.
Although Polymarket's own positioning seems to be on the edge of various countries' gaming laws, foreign media reports pointed out that the US FBI raid was more like a "political drama."
Because the FBI could have obtained the evidence it needed through Shane's lawyers without conducting such a high-profile raid. In addition, the controversy caused by the results of the US presidential election seems to have become the driving force behind this raid.
(New York Post) Sources believe that the FBI may want to investigate Polymarket for market manipulation or bias in favor of Trump. This accusation will not only affect the company's reputation, but also further intensify concerns about political interference in business practices.
Shane also emphasized on right way."
At the bottom of the discussion thread, you can see that many "blue-gou coin circle big guys" have left messages of support. Among them, Tesla CEO Musk also left the sentence "Indeed" to express his support.
Will huge bets affect the election? Polymarket platform takes center stage for political predictions
Founded in 2020, Polymarket is a future event prediction platform that allows users to place bets on a variety of topics from politics to sports to pop culture, with prices reflecting how bettors assess the likelihood of future events. .
Since US (and Taiwanese) users are banned from betting on the platform, Polymarket conducted a rigorous review of the regional sources of large bettors before the election, confirming that betting funds came from outside the United States. However, as long as you use a virtual private network (VPN), you still cannot prevent users who want to circumvent the firewall.
During the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Polymarket became a popular platform for many bettors, and more than $3.7 billion was bet on the "2024 presidential election results" market, further deepening its influence on the election.
As early as after the debate between Trump and Biden on June 27, bettors on Polymarket had already expected Biden to withdraw from the race, and this prediction proved to be quite correct.
After the election results were announced, a "Trump whale" investor earned approximately US$85 million through Polymarket. This big investor is a Frenchman with extensive trading experience, and he placed a large amount of bets in support of Trump's victory before the election.
In this regard, Polymarket emphasized that the transaction had nothing to do with the company's policies, but it still triggered an investigation by the French gaming regulator and is evaluating whether Polymarket violated French gaming regulations.
References: cointelegraph, nypost, wsj
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