David Edwards
According to Bloomberg and Reuters, Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction platform, is close to raising $200 million in fresh funding, which may raise its valuation to the $1 billion “unicorn” level.
Despite Polymarket’s continuous regulatory issues in the United States, it is anticipated that Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund would lead the investment round, indicating strong institutional trust. The FBI executed a search warrant on founder Shayne Coplan in November, seizing electronic equipment after suspicions of U.S. access violations, and the platform is still prohibited to American users after a U.S. regulatory crackdown.
Investor interest in the platform is still high, though. According to insider estimates, Polymarket has already raised over $100 million, including an unreported $50 million tranche early in 2025.
Increased Visibility through Collaboration with Musk’s X and AI Bot Grok
The raise’s timing coincides with Polymarket’s early June announcement of a strategic alliance with Elon Musk’s X. In order to increase user engagement and content virality, the partnership intends to combine prediction markets with data analytics and commentary from the AI chatbot Grok.
Growing Rapidly During Political Cycles
The 2024 U.S. presidential election saw Polymarket gain a lot of popularity; in November, its monthly trade volume peaked at $2.5 billion. Users of the decentralized platform can place bets on anything from Fed interest rate decisions to global issues.
Polymarket’s May 2025 trade volume dropped to $1.1 billion, a 56% decrease from its election-fueled peak, according to Dune Analytics. The platform still has 1.2 million users worldwide, with 21,000 active markets and 20 million open positions, notwithstanding the decline.
Legal Limitations and the Dangers of International Compliance
Global regulatory pressure on Polymarket is growing. The platform has been restricted or outright prohibited in France, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Poland, and Belgium in addition to the U.S. prohibition. Critics have also pointed to claims of market manipulation and opaque market resolutions.
However, Polymarket still holds marketplaces on delicate political and economic subjects. For instance, it presently rates an 87% chance that the U.S. stablecoin regulatory bill, the GENIUS Act, will be passed into law in 2025. Bets on topics like possible U.S. recessions, Israel-Iran wars, Russia-Ukraine ceasefires, and the results of the mayoral contest in New York City are also available on the site.
The major competitor of Polymarket is still Kalshi, a prediction market platform supported by Sequoia Capital and Y Combinator that functions in the US with CFTC approval.
