In a shocking surprise raid very early in the morning on Wednesday, the FBI seized the telephone and electronic devices of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan. This comes a week after Coplan’s platform, Polymarket, correctly called the winner of the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump.
The raid was at 6:00 a.m. in Coplan’s Soho residence
A source familiar with the case stated that the FBI went to Coplan’s residence, took him out of bed, and gave him an order to turn over his electronics. As The Post learned from the source, who wished to speak anonymously, the nature of the raid was far from neutral it has all the markings of being politically motivated.
“It’s grand political theater at its worst,” the source said. “They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid, likely to leak it to the media and use it for political purposes.”
Possible Political Payback
Although Coplan was not among those arrested in connection with the raid, the insider believes that the seizure may be tied to Polymarket’s ability to predict an election victory for Trump-an election which defied the conventional opinion polls. A prediction market platform has increasingly been used for its potential to provide insight in public opinion or an outcome of events-sports, politics, or any event.
There is a real concern that the government is targeting Polymarket due to its accurate prediction of the election,” the source said. “This feels like political retribution.”
Market Manipulation Allegations?
Perhaps the FBI is examining some form of market manipulation or unfounded allegations that Polymarket was somehow rigging its own polls, the source speculated. Polymarket-a platform where people can wager on pretty much any outcome-isn’t a new name to acclimating to critics for its unorthodox approach to forecasting future events.
Representatives of Polymarket have been defending the platform, which has drawn criticism for being “fully transparent” and built primarily to give the public analyses over high-profile events such as elections. “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 statement read.
No arrest has been made, and the FBI is silent
Coplan is yet to be arrested, and the FBI refused to release an official statement regarding what actually happened. For now, it is not known why this operation left the spot, leaving most to speculate whether this is a form of intimidation or as an attempt to investigate operations of prediction markets.
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