Crypto Biz: US elections crown Polymarket

As an analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial industry, I find myself continually astounded by the rapid growth and innovation in the crypto space. One such shining example is Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market platform that has managed to attract billions in bets within just four years. The young CEO, Shayne Coplan, is truly a force to be reckoned with, demonstrating that age is no barrier to success in this dynamic field.


Although Donald Trump secured victory in the presidential election, the crypto world boasts its own victor: Polymarket – an innovative platform for prediction markets that operates on the Polygon blockchain.

Established a mere four years back, this platform has gathered an astonishing $3.2 billion in accumulated wagers related to the outcome of the U.S. elections, with a staggering $239.5 million bet on Election Day specifically.

26-year-old Shayne Coplan serves as both the CEO and a board member at Polymarket, as reported by Pitchbook. Traders on the platform have predicted significant developments in key elections, such as President Joe Biden withdrawing from the race, along with various other geopolitical events.

Over the last several months, the firm has managed to secure a substantial amount of venture capital, with approximately $70 million raised in total across two funding rounds. Notable investors like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin have backed these fundraising efforts.

Over the last month, wagers on our platform have significantly increased to a staggering $5.3 billion, primarily fueled by a surge in political polls. For example, the most profitable Trump-betting account on Polymarket pocketed an impressive $20.4 million when AP announced the election results.

Crypto Biz: US elections crown Polymarket

During October, the trading platform accumulated over $111,000 in fees for the Polygon network, and during the early days of November, an additional $40,613 was gathered. Despite the conclusion of the election, it appears that traders are continuing to engage with the betting trend enthusiastically.

The surge in Polymarket’s development has drawn scrutiny from regulators as well. In France, it appears that the National Gaming Authority of France (ANJ) is looking into their operations and adherence to French gaming regulations. There are rumors of a possible ban on the platform under consideration.

This week’s Cryptocurrency Market Update includes:

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF sees $1B volume in first minutes of post-election trading

On November 6th, there was a significant increase in trades for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), amounting to approximately $1.1 billion within the initial 20 minutes of post-election trading activity. Financial analysts predict that Bitcoin’s price could potentially escalate under Donald Trump’s upcoming administration, with estimates pointing towards a possible value of $100,000 by his second inauguration on January 20th. Trump has shown interest in making the US a leading hub for cryptocurrencies, differing from the previous administration’s stance on crypto regulation.

Meta opens Llama AI model up to US military

As a researcher, I am participating in a collaborative effort where Meta, the technology company behind social media platforms like Facebook, has made its advanced artificial intelligence model, Llama, available for national security purposes to the United States military and defense sector. The primary aim of this partnership is to optimize intricate logistics and planning processes, monitor illicit terrorist financing activities, and fortify America’s cybersecurity infrastructure. In a statement released on November 4th, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, outlined these objectives. To provide comprehensive services to the U.S. government, Meta will be teaming up with tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Oracle, and Palantir, among others.

Marathon, Riot record highest monthly BTC production since April halving

Bitcoin mining companies Marathon Digital and Riot Blockchain have seen record-breaking monthly production since the April halving, signifying a robust rebound within the sector. Specifically, Marathon yielded 717 Bitcoins (approximately $48.8 million) in October, thanks to a 14% rise in its hashrate that pushed it above 40 exahashes per second, and higher transaction fees accounting for 5% of its total output. In the same vein, Riot mined 505 Bitcoins (around $34.4 million) during October, representing a 22.6% increase from the preceding month, primarily due to an uptick in its hashrate to 29.4 EH/s after integrating new MicroBT mining rigs.

VanEck lists PYTH ETN in Europe

On November 5th, VanEck announced the listing of an Exchange-Traded Note (ETN) in Europe that follows the performance of Pyth Network’s native token, PYTH. This ETN will be tradable on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris, and is accessible to investors in 15 European nations such as Germany, France, Norway, and Switzerland. The Pyth Network serves as a decentralized oracle protocol, allowing smart contracts to interact with external data and communicate with other blockchain networks. As of now, PYTH has a fully diluted market capitalization of approximately $3.4 billion.

Before you go: Wall Street investors are still largely unaware of Ethereum’s potential, similar to Amazon in the early 1990s before it became a $2 trillion tech giant, according to a research analyst at crypto asset manager 21Shares.

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2024-11-09 01:18