The feds on Wednesday raided the home of Shayne Coplan, CEO of decentralized market prediction platform Polymarket, which signaled a Donald Trump victory in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. elections, multiple outlets reported.
The raid took place early Wednesday in Coplan’s downtown New York residence, a week after the U.S. elections that were widely won by Republicans.
Multiple outlets reported that FBI agents roused Coplan, 26, from his sleep and seized his phone and electronic devices. A spokesperson for Polymarket said the raid was “obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the presidential election.”
Coplan was not arrested or taken into custody. Bloomberg also reported that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating Polymarket for allegedly allowing American users to bet on its event contracts.
U.S.-based Polymarket users have been blocked from trading their crypto on the platform after the company as part of a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022 that ended in a $1.4 million fine.
Polymarket did not immediately respond to International Business Times’ request for comments on the Bloomberg report.
Coplan Talks ‘Discouraging’ Experience
Following news of the raid and seizure of Coplan’s electronics, the crypto executive took to X to share what he said was a “discouraging” experience. He did not directly mention anything about the raid, but his statements were similar to the Polymarket spokesperson’s remarks.
“It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents,” he wrote.
He reiterated that Polymarket is “committed to being non-partisan.” He said the incumbent government “should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election.”
The cryptocurrency industry rallied behind Coplan and Polymarket, including tech titan Elon Musk, who had just been confirmed alongside Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency.
Political activist Jeremy Kauffman said the “persecution” Polymarket experienced is a “perfect example of massive harm caused by [a] rogue administrative state,” and one crypto user said the incumbent government is “afraid of what they can’t control.”
Prominent crypto investor Ryan Sean Adams said the targeting of Coplan was “bone chilling,” especially with how Polymarket provided a platform for people to predict a Trump win.
Crypto Community Urges D.O.G.E Leaders to Fix the Issue
Crypto users are now calling on the Tesla CEO and his co-chair of the D.O.G.E agency to “make things right” now that they were given a responsibility to help audit the government. “This is why DOGE was created,” wrote well-followed trader Borovik.
The DOJ and FBI have yet to release a statement regarding the reported raid on Coplan’s home. Polymarket continues to operate as usual.
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