As Polymarket's profile rises with the U.S. election, founder Shayne Coplan says it's just the beginning for prediction markets

Episode 44 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Shayne Coplan, founder of Polymarket.

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Shayne Coplan thinks information markets are the future, and with the recent influx in volume to his platform Polymarket, it seems they are quickly becoming the present. 

In recent weeks, the prediction market platform has done millions in volume with its various election markets, which span from the U.S. presidential election to state calls. The platform's "Will Trump win market?" has surpassed $8 million in volume.

As the U.S. presidential election grew ever-tighter on November 3 and 4, many crypto-minds noted that Polymarket's odds more accurately reflected the outcomes compared to traditional models like Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight.

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Coplan says he has no doubt in the growing future of prediction markets, and on this week's episode of The Scoop, he laid out why he believes markets are the most reliable source of sentiment data. He also touched on:

  • How he went from early Ethereum adopter to founder of a company
  • Why he believes markets are superior to polls, and how prediction platforms can change the way information is interpreted
  • Where Polymarket sits on the sliding scale of decentralization and what that means for compliance
  • How Polymarket's second version is lowering the barrier to entry and what tools are making adoption easier
  • What's next for Polymarket after the U.S. presidential election resolves. 

© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.