Who is Shayne Coplan? Cryptocurrency founder and CEO who ran the Polymarket betting site from his bathroom

You may have never heard of Shayne Coplan, but he is the founder of one of the few crypto betting sites that predicted Donald Trump would win the US election.

Polymarket has become a staple of political news, with proponents claiming it offers the most accurate signal of the election outcome. Here’s what we know about him:

Who is Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan?

Shayne Coplan is a New York-based entrepreneur who created the forecasting site Polymarket.

The market invites users to bet money on a specific outcome, but it managed to predict major developments in the US elections.

Polymarket turned heads with bold predictions, from speculation that President Joe Biden would resign to suggesting that Donald Trump might choose JD Vance as his running mate.

On election night, the site seemed to have the ultimate “I told you so” moment that signaled for weeks that Trump was on track to win — and indeed, it looked like the prediction was right .

Despite running one of the most talked about political betting platforms, the founder of Polymarket has kept a low profile.

But that could soon change: The entrepreneur could be celebrated as a mastermind of political predictions – or dismissed as just another fleeting figure.

Coplan grew up on the Upper West Side and attended public school in Hell’s Kitchen.

A programming prodigy, he made an early splash in the crypto world and was reportedly the youngest buyer in the Ethereum token sale in 2014.

He got hold of coins that were only 30 cents each.

Today, he runs Polymarket from humble beginnings – he started in a converted bathroom office four years ago.

He posted on

“[Little] Did I know that Polymarket would change the world?

Coplan went on to study computer science at New York University, but left before graduating to pursue a growing obsession: crypto and prediction markets.

According to Fortune, 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, Coplan suggested a walking tour that turned into a two-hour walk around New York during which he enthusiastically talked to Hadick about prediction markets.

Recently, Coplan was able to share his vision directly with political figures, including at a breakfast meeting with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

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In July 2024, he even shared a retweet of images of Polymarket on display at RNC headquarters – although he kept his own political stance secret.

Coplan has managed to keep a low profile online.

There are few photos of a younger, curl-free Coplan from events like a crypto meetup and the Bitcoin Miami conference in 2018.

While he has been careful to stay out of the media spotlight, that may soon change as questions arise about the accuracy and transparency of Polymarket forecasts.

What is Polymarket?

Polymarket has quickly become the world’s largest prediction market, allowing users to trade on some of the hottest topics – 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 chances in these “prediction markets” diverged significantly from the traditional neck-and-neck polls.

Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election before anything else.

Shayne Coplan

But Polymarket is not just a new player in political betting.

It’s also a thriving startup, having raised $70 million so far, including $45 million in a large funding round in May.

Influential supporters are on board, including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

His track record of accurate predictions has even caught the attention of statistical expert Nate Silver, who was recently hired as a consultant.

With this impressive support and growing reputation, Polymarket is setting a new standard for prediction markets.

Coplan said in a post after the results were announced