Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket, has become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The milestone follows Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) announcement on Tuesday that it plans to invest up to $2 billion in the company, at a pre-money valuation of $8 billion. ICE owns the New York Stock Exchange, one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world.
Coplan, now 27, launched Polymarket in June 2020 after spending a year studying how prediction markets could improve decision-making. The platform allows users to bet on real outcomes, from elections to sports to economic indicators, using cryptocurrency.
Polymarket’s watershed moment came during the 2024 US presidential election, when users bet more than $3 billion on the potential outcomes. The scale of participation took Coplan’s idea from a niche crypto experiment to a global phenomenon.
But this increase did not come without setbacks. In 2022, Polymarket paid a $1.4 million fine to settle with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations that it offered illegal trades. The company said it blocked U.S. users shortly afterward, although regulators later suspected it was still hosting U.S. traders. A week after the 2024 election, FBI agents searched Coplan’s apartment. The Justice Department dropped the investigation in July, as did the CFTC’s civil probe.
The same month, Polymarket acquired QCEX, a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearing house, giving it a legal basis to operate in the United States. This decision marks a radical turning point between its first regulatory problems and full legitimacy under American law.
Since then, Polymarket has reshaped the gaming and financial forecasting industries. By combining the transparency of blockchain with the thrill of market-based predictions, it is attracting interest from individuals and institutions.
Rival platforms have taken note. Kalshi, another prediction market operator, began offering betting through a partnership with Robinhood Markets earlier this year.
