Trump DOJ closes investigation into crypto betting platform Polymarket
“After cooperating and engaging, we’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing. Justice prevailed. God Bless America,” said Polymarket CEO James Coplan.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has closed its investigations into the online crypto betting platform Polymarket. The New York-based company was being probed by former President Biden’s Justice Department on allegations that it may have been accepting trades from US-based users, according to Bloomberg.
Authorities ramped up the investigation after Polymarket called the 2024 Presidential Election in November, and users were betting on the outcomes of races, resulting in the FBI raiding Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan’s home eight days later.
Coplan released a statement about the matter on social media, writing on X, “8 months ago, on election night, we were on top of the world after Polymarket called the election. 8 days later, the FBI broke down my door at 6 am and took all my computers and phones, looking for anything that could imply foul play. While traumatic, it etched the story of Polymarket’s accuracy, and the ensuing resistance, into the history of American politics.”
“And today, I’m happy to announce that this chapter of our story is over,” he continued. “After cooperating and engaging, we’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing. Justice prevailed. God Bless America.”
Polymarket experienced a significant increase in users around the November 2024 election, with individuals flocking to the site to place cryptocurrency wagers on outcomes. This also drew the attention of federal investigators, who ultimately raided Coplan’s Soho penthouse. At the time, Coplan accused the Biden administration of targeting companies they claimed to be associated with President Biden’s political opponents, according to Bloomberg. The FBI had seized Coplan’s phone and electronic devices.
In 2022, Polymarket reached a $1.4 million settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) after it was fined for operating an “illegal, unregistered or non-designated facility,” which began in June 2020, Coin Telegraph reported.