Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund invests $70M in election betting platform

As an analyst with a background in financial markets and experience in following regulatory developments, I find the investment by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund in Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market platform for political events, intriguing. The successful $70 million fundraising effort, spearheaded by Founders Fund in the latest Series B round, marks the firm’s first venture into event-betting contracts.


Expert: Peter Thiel’s investment firm, Founders Fund, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin are leading a $70 million fundraising campaign for Polymarket, an innovative platform allowing wagers on political occurrences.

Based on Bloomberg’s report, Polymarket managed to amass $70 million in total funds through two financing rounds. In the most recent Series B round, which was led by Founders Fund, they secured $45 million for their venture. The interest in wagering on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential elections is growing.

In spite of the prohibition suggested by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against wagering on political contests using cryptocurrencies, this type of market remains vibrant. Following the proposed ban, a partner at Founders Fund, Joey Krug, made the following statement:

A lot of the reason why certain people don’t like prediction markets in the US kind of dates back to pretty puritanical thinking about betting. In the short- to mid-term it’s good for Polymarket because they are targeting non-US markets. In the long run, it will be good if Americans can participate in this market too.

Based on Krug’s reporting, Founders Fund has made its initial foray into event-betting agreements with this investment.

Previously, Polymarket received a fine from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and pledged to scale down its operations in the US as part of a resolution. Post-settlement, the company brought on board J. Christopher Giancarlo, who previously led the CFTC, to chair its advisory board – an effort aimed at restoring regulatory goodwill.

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed that Polymarket has been witnessing an increase in betting volume, especially as the U.S. presidential elections approach. This platform is well-known for enabling wagers on various events, and what makes it even more attractive is that users can buy shares using Circle USD (USDC) without having to worry about holding their funds directly.

As a crypto investor and follower of the latest trends in the market, I’ve noticed an exciting development with Polymarket, a platform founded by Shayne Coplan at just 25 years old. This innovative platform has experienced a significant increase in electoral betting, leading to over $170 million worth of wagers being placed on the upcoming U.S. elections, as per their website.

When we think about the US market as well as investing, researching into it, we know that is likely not something that will pay dividends immediately. Ultimately we have the deep conviction that markets on all the things that people are wondering about and have opinions on will exist.

As a financial analyst, I have observed that despite the recent successful fundraising rounds, Polymarket’s current valuation has taken a hit due to regulatory challenges. The valuation, which was estimated to be around $1 billion earlier, has been diminished as a result of these setbacks.

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2024-05-14 17:33