The FBI raided the Manhattan apartment of Shayne Coplan, CEO of Polymarket, on Wednesday morning, seizing his phone and electronic devices just days after the betting platform accurately predicted President Donald Trump’s reelection. The incident has sparked allegations of political motivations.
“This is political retribution,” a source close to Coplan said. “They staged a raid for optics when they could have simply gone through his attorney.”
🚨🇺🇸 BREAKING: FBI SEIZES POLYMARKET CEO’S ELECTRONICS AFTER TRUMP ELECTION PREDICTION
The FBI seized Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan’s phone and electronics at his Soho home early Wednesday, just a week after Polymarket accurately predicted Trump’s election win.
Sources close to… pic.twitter.com/tKmc8JKvAW
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 13, 2024
Polymarket, a prediction platform, showed Trump with a 58.6% chance of winning on Election Day, challenging mainstream polling. Critics have accused the platform of manipulating markets, though Polymarket denies any bias, describing its operations as fully transparent.
The company has faced prior regulatory scrutiny, including a $1.4 million fine in 2022 for noncompliance with U.S. laws. Polymarket recently announced plans to re-enter the U.S. market, which has renewed government interest in its activities.
This might be one of the final bosses of the “then they fight you phase”.
The FBI raiding the house of the founder of Polymarket is REALLY scary pic.twitter.com/ctSyedi0vl— Ab (@abrahamcr) November 13, 2024
Being reported that the FBI raided Polymarket founders home this morning & seized his phone and electronics.
They gave him no reason.
Polymarket predicted Trump would win.
This looks like political retribution and is actually bone chilling.
WTF is this administration doing. pic.twitter.com/QaBKrSNA2x
— RYAN SΞAN ADAMS – rsa.eth 🦄 (@RyanSAdams) November 13, 2024
Adding to the controversy, a French trader reportedly earned $85 million on Trump-related bets through Polymarket. While the trader denied any intent to influence election outcomes, the platform’s success has drawn significant attention.
More denial is in place as @Polymarket CEO gets raided by theFBI. #crypto #blockchain #digitalassets – @elonmusk Not too soon before a takeover in DC changes these antics. pic.twitter.com/6i3PRrVvUv
— PaulBarron (@paulbarron) November 13, 2024
BREAKING: the FBI has allegedly raided the home of Polymarket founder and CEO @shayne_coplan and "demanded his phone and electronics."
We don't have all the details, but our piece from last month detailing the US government's little-known, partisan-fueled war on prediction… pic.twitter.com/nZtklhOncO
— Pirate Wires (@PirateWires) November 13, 2024
Coplan, who has not been charged, responded lightheartedly on social media, but the raid underscores broader concerns about political interference and the regulation of prediction markets.
