The FBI seized the phone and electronics of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan following the election-betting platform’s accurate prediction of Donald Trump’s win.
According to sources, the 26-year-old was taken from his Soho residence in a dawn raid on Wednesday.
An insider criticized the seizure, calling it “grand political theater at its worst.”
‘They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons,’ the source said.
Coplan was reportedly neither arrested nor provided with a reason for the raid.
However, it is believed to be related to his platform’s accurate predictions, which outperformed traditional polling methods.
‘This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,’ the source added.
Polymarket indicated for several weeks leading up to the election that Trump was likely to win.
Coplan said in a post on X after the results were announced: ‘Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election before anything else. The global truth machine is here, powered by the people.’
In a statement to the New York Post, Polymarket described itself as a “fully transparent prediction market.”
‘We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good.’
Elon Musk and American statistician Nate Silver have both praised Shayne Coplan after his platform, Polymarket, successfully anticipated the outcome of the November 5 U.S. election.
