Tag: Polymarket

The US is edging closer to a definitive ban on TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media app that has dominated global digital culture. Despite a surprising show of goodwill from incoming President Donald Trump, the odds on prediction markets like Polymarket suggest a 67% likelihood of a ban before May 2025. This looming threat raises urgent questions.

Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, is facing increasing regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore has taken a firm stance against Polymarket, officially blocking access to the platform within the country This report analyzes the recent developments and their implications for the platform's future operations.

On Nov 13, 2024, the U.S. FBI executed a search warrant against Shayne Coplan, the CEO of Polymarket, a popular blockchain-based prediction market platform. The enforcement action involved the seizure of Coplan's phone and other electronic devices, the New York Post reported recently. An insider alleged that the seizure was politically motivated, calling it a “grand political theater at worst.”

The CFTC’s crackdown on Polymarket and other offshore crypto platforms signals a new phase of enforcement in the prediction market space, where the intersection of derivatives and elections raises complex compliance challenges. With over $930 million in bets placed on Polymarket’s "2024 Presidential Election Winner" market, regulators are taking notice.

The U.S. CFTC ordered Delaware-registered Blockratize, Inc. d/b/a Polymarket, based in New York City, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty. Polymarket operated off-exchange event-based binary options and failure to obtain designation as a designated contract market (DCM) or registration as a swap execution facility (SEF) and did not comply with the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and applicable CFTC regulations. Polymarket was ordered to cease and desist from violating the CEA and CFTC regulations.