Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm, Founders Fund, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have spearheaded a $70 million fundraising effort for Polymarket, a platform enabling betting on political events., Polymarket successfully raised $70 million across two funding rounds as betting on the 2024 U.S. presidential elections gains momentum. The latest Series B Polymarket funding round was spearheaded by Founders Fund, raising $45 million.
A lot of the reason why certain people don’t like prediction markets in the US kind of dates back to pretty puritanical thinking about betting. In the short- to mid-term it’s good for Polymarket because they are targeting non-US markets. In the long run, it will be good if Americans can participate in this market too.
Polymarket was fined by the CFTC in the past and agreed to reduce its services in the United States as part of a settlement. Since then, the platform has appointed the former CFTC head J. Christopher Giancarlo as chairman of the platform’s advisory board, in an attempt to mend its relationship with the regulators.
Led by 25-year-old founder Shayne Coplan, Polymarket has witnessed a surge in electoral betting, resulting in over $170 million in wagers being placed on the upcoming U.S. elections — according to the platform’s website.