Polymarket is an online peer-to-peer prediction market platform that allows users to trade shares based on the outcomes of real-world events. It leverages blockchain technology and smart contracts to offer a trustless, transparent,and user-friendly way to speculate on future events in sports, politics, pop culture and science.

Polymarket was founded by Shayne Coplan in 2020 and was built on the Ethereum blockchain. It launched its beta version in the same year and allowed users to trade on a variety of topics. It also raised $4 million in a Series A funding round with investors including Polychain Capital, CoinFund and other notable names in the blockchain space.

Polymarket gained significant traction during the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, attracting people interested in betting on election outcomes and saw rapid growth in its user base and trading volume. However, in 2021 the platform faced scrutiny from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over concerns related to offering unlicensed binary options.  Polymarket later settled with the CFTC in early 2022, agreeing to pay $1.4 million, wind down the non-compliant markets on its website, and "cease and desist from violating the CEA and CFTC regulations, as charged."

As part of this settlement, Polymarket imposed a block to prevent U.S. users from trading on the platform while still allowing them to view information markets.

Despite regulatory challenges, Polymarket continued to grow. In 2024, the platform raised a $45 million Series B funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with participation from notable investors including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The platform also hired veteran futures industry executive Richard Jaycobs to explore U.S.-regulated activities and brought on well-regarded statistician and election commentator Nate Silver as an advisor.

In 2024 alone, more than $400 million of trades occurred on Polymarket, with significant activity driven by the U.S. elections.