Polymarket CEO's apartment raided by FBI following accurate prediction of Trump's win

New York (The Uttam Hindu): FBI agents raided the Manhattan apartment of Shayne Coplan, CEO of Polymarket, a prediction market platform that accurately forecasted Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, according to a report by the *New York Post* on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Coplan was reportedly woken up at 6 am local time in his Soho apartment by US law enforcement officers, who demanded that he hand over his phone and other electronic devices. Coplan was not given an explanation for the raid, but sources close to the matter speculate that the action may be politically motivated, stemming from Polymarket's accurate prediction of Trump's win over Vice President Kamala Harris, in contrast to traditional polling methods.

Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian-origin entrepreneur appointed by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), commented on the situation on X, questioning, "Are they mad Polymarket predicted the race correctly?" Some sources also suggested that the US government could accuse Polymarket of market manipulation or rigging its predictions in favor of Trump. One source claimed, "This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election," according to *New York Post*.

Coplan has not been arrested or charged, and a spokesperson for Polymarket told *New York Post* that the platform remains transparent and open. "Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections," the spokesperson added. "We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good." The FBI did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

In response to the raid, Coplan posted on X, "New phone, who dis?" The raid comes a week after Coplan announced Polymarket’s plans to return to the US. Ahead of the election, the platform predicted a 58.6% chance of a Trump victory, with Kamala Harris at 41.4%. Polymarket has also been linked to Trump and his allies, with billionaire Trump supporter Peter Thiel reportedly raising about $70 million in funding for the platform earlier this year, according to *Forbes*. In 2022, Polymarket was forced to pause its US operations and pay a $1.4 million fine to settle charges with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for failing to register with the agency.

One major Polymarket bettor, known only as "Theo," who placed millions on a Trump victory, reportedly earned around $85 million in profits. The anonymous bettor was believed to operate multiple accounts on Polymarket, which sold contracts for Trump and Harris ahead of the election. The *New York Post* also reported that $3.7 billion was spent on betting for the US presidential election, with the majority of those bets placed on Trump, making it a key indicator in the final month before Election Day. "It's grand political theater at its worst," said a source close to the matter. "They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid to leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons."