FBI seizes Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan’s phone and computer after he predicted Trump win
The FBI has seized the CEO of Polymarket’s phones and electronics after the election betting platform successfully predicted Donald Trump’s victory.
Shayne Coplan, 26, was targeted in a morning attack on his Soho home on Wednesday, sources told the newspaper New York Post.
The insider described the seizure as ‘grand political theater at its worst’.
“They could have asked his lawyer for all these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they could leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons,” the source said.
Coplan was reportedly not arrested or given a reason for the raid, but it is believed to be related to his accurate predictions that outsmarted traditional polls.
Forecasting whiz Shane Coplan (pictured) and his start-up Polymarket proved more accurate than pollsters as traders bet on an easy Donald Trump victory
“This is clear political retaliation by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that rightly called the 2024 presidential election,” the source added.
Polymarket indicated for weeks that Trump would win, and the previously inconspicuous site turned out to be right — despite raised eyebrows from many experts.
Coplan said in a post on X after the results were announced: “Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election. The global truth machine is here, powered by the people.’
In a statement to the New York Post, Polymarket said it is a “completely transparent prediction market.”
“We charge no fees, take no trading positions and enable observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good.”
Coplan has remained out of the spotlight until now.
But after his site – which invited users to bet money on a certain outcome – managed to predict the outcome of the November 5 US election, he was praised by Elon Musk and US statistician Nate Silver.
Silver – one of many experts who predicted the election would be extremely close – was so impressed that he joined the company as a consultant.
But in the wake of his predictions, the CEO has now had his phone and electronics seized by the FBI
But some critics cast doubt on Polymarket’s reliability and how representative it is of the American public.
The site has humble beginnings, with Coplan sharing a photo of his “office,” which was actually in his bathroom, four years ago.
The young entrepreneur has kept his personal political leanings hidden, but recently had breakfast with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Coplan said the company’s profile was boosted after it rightly called Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
However, he maintains that his site remains strictly impartial.
“We’re just market nerds who think prediction markets provide the public with a much-needed alternative data source,” Coplan previously said. ‘Polymarkt is not about politics.’
Polymarket, Kalshi and other betting platforms have quickly emerged as a way to pour money into elections and gauge who is ahead, after successive cycles in which pollsters’ predictions crashed and burned.
One financier managed to make about $85 million betting on the election through Polymarket.
The anonymous person is a French citizen who had 11 accounts on the platform, according to the website Wall Street Journal. Americans are not allowed to trade on the platform.
Bettors place ‘trades’ on a candidate and receive a payout if they back the correct outcome.
Coplan was reportedly not arrested or given a reason for the raid, but it is believed to be related to his accurate predictions that outsmarted traditional polls.
More and bigger bets on a frontrunner increase a candidate’s chances, while at the same time lowering the gamblers’ returns.
On election night, it quickly became clear that the betting markets were on the money.
Opinion polls, which ask voters about how they plan to vote and then process that data, had suggested a tight race, including in the seven swing states that decided the election.
But they underestimated Trump’s support nationally, and by as much as four percentage points in battleground states like North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona, as of Friday’s count.
DailyMail.com has contacted the FBI for comment.
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