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Who is Shayne Coplan? Crypto currency founder and CEO who ran Polymarket betting site from his bathroom
The Polymarket founder shared his humble beginnings with a stark image
YOU may not have heard of Shayne Coplan, but he’s the founder of one of the few crypto betting sites that predicted Donald Trump would win the U.S. elections.
Polymarket has become a fixture in political news, with supporters claiming it offers the most accurate signal of the election’s outcome. Here’s what we know about him.
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Who is Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan?
Shayne Coplan is a New York-based entrepreneur who created the prediction site, Polymarket.
The market invites users to bet money on a given outcome, however, it managed to foreshadow major developments in the U.S. election.
Polymarket made waves with bold predictions, from speculating that President Joe Biden would step down to suggesting Donald Trump might pick JD Vance as his running mate.
On election night, the site seemed to have the ultimate “I told you so” moment, signaling for weeks that Trump was on track to win—and sure enough, it looked like the prediction was on point.
Despite running one of today’s most talked-about political betting platforms, Polymarket’s founder has kept a pretty low profile.
But that could change soon: the entrepreneur might be hailed as a political prediction mastermind—or dismissed as just another fleeting figure.
Raised on the Upper West Side, Coplan attended public school in Hell’s Kitchen.
A coding prodigy, he made a splash in crypto early, rumored to be the youngest buyer in Ethereum’s 2014 token sale.
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He snagged coins at just 30 cents each.
Fast forward to today, and he’s overseeing Polymarket from humble beginnings—starting out four years ago in a converted bathroom office.
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He posted a picture on X, showing his basic setup, adding: “2020, running out of money, solo founder, HQ in my makeshift bathroom office.
“[Little] did I know Polymarket was going to change the world."
Coplan went on to study computer science at New York University, but left before graduating to follow a growing obsession: crypto and prediction markets.
Cited by , Rob Hadick, a partner at Dragonfly, the venture capital firm investing in Polymarket, said: “He wants to be able to talk about it forever. This is his life. He lives it.”
At an initial meeting, instead of pitching in a typical conference room setting, Coplan suggested a walk, which turned into a two-hour stroll through New York as he enthusiastically talked Hadick’s ear off about prediction markets.
Recently, Coplan has been able to share his vision directly with political figures, including a breakfast meeting with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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In July 2024, he even shared a retweet showing Polymarket visuals displayed at RNC headquarters—though he’s kept his own political stance under wraps.
Coplan has managed to keep a low profile online.
There are only a few photos of a younger, curl-free Coplan from events like a crypto gathering and the Bitcoin Miami conference in 2018.
Though he’s been savvy about staying out of the media spotlight, that may soon change as questions arise about the accuracy and transparency of Polymarket predictions.
What is Polymarket?
Polymarket has quickly risen to become the world’s largest prediction market, where users can trade on some of the hottest topics around—crypto, politics, sports, current events, and more.
In the final stretch of the U.S. presidential election, Polymarket and similar sites saw a surge in attention as Trump’s odds on these “prediction markets” sharply diverged from traditional polls, which had the race neck and neck.
Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election before anything else.
Shayne Coplan
But Polymarket isn’t just a new player in political betting.
It’s also a thriving startup, having raised $70 million to date, including $45 million in a major funding round in May.
Influential backers are on board, including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin.
Its track record for accurate predictions has even caught the attention of stats expert Nate Silver, who recently signed on as an advisor.
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With this impressive support and a growing reputation, Polymarket is setting a new standard for prediction markets.
Coplan said in a post on X after the results were revealed: "Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election before anything else. The global truth machine is here, powered by the people.”
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