Author: Pirate Wires
Translation: Felix, PANews
On November 13, local time, the FBI raided Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's New York residence, seizing his phone and electronic devices. The FBI's investigation focuses on whether the Polymarket platform is operating as an unlicensed exchange.
But after this incident, it seems that it is not just a matter of compliance, but also involves commercial competition. According to American media Pirate Wires, Kalshi funded KOLs to insinuate that its competitor Polymarket and CEO Shayne Coplan were engaging in illegal activities. Below are the details.
According to informed sources and received screenshots, on the morning of November 13 at 6 AM, after a raid on the SoHo residence of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, Kalshi paid KOLs on social media to spread news of the raid and promote claims that Shayne and Polymarket were engaging in illegal activities.
Other screenshots provided by sources seem to show KOLs posting negative content about Shayne and Polymarket discussing their paid collaboration with Kalshi shortly after the raid. One source stated that just days after the raid, a third party related to Kalshi offered him $3,500 to write an “attack article” about Polymarket.
In a chat screenshot (see below), Kalshi employees requested former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has 2.2 million X followers, to post specific information about the raid.
Kalshi growth team member Keaton Inglis asked Antonio Brown in a screenshot: “Hey, Antonio Brown, are you going to comment on this with something like ‘This black guy seems guilty’?” He seemed to refer to a post by CJ Pearson suggesting Shayne's corruption (archived link). Keaton Inglis's colleague, Kalshi's chief of staff Brendan Beckhardt added: “Let's get to work.”
On November 15, Antonio Brown quoted a tweet from CJ Pearson (archived link) and captioned it “This black guy seems guilty…”
On the same day, a third-party company related to Kalshi offered $3,500 to Gateway Pundit reporter Elijah Schaffer (who has 772,000 followers) to write a “hot article” promoting the claim that Polymarket and Shayne were involved in criminal activities. Elijah Schaffer disclosed to media Pirate Wires over the phone that he rejected the offer.
Other screenshots show that in the days following the FBI raid on Shayne's apartment, several KOLs promoted anti-Polymarket sentiments and discussed their paid partnership with Kalshi.
One screenshot shows a representative from Clown World (with 2.8 million followers) discussing a paid partnership with Kalshi. On the day after the raid, November 14, that account posted (archived link): “SBF lookalike raided by FBI for illegal betting scheme.” He was referring to Shayne. Since the election, Clown World has repeatedly posted other content related to Kalshi (archived link).
Another screenshot shows Miami influencer Arynne Wexler, who has over 67,000 followers, discussing her “deal” with Kalshi at the end of October. On November 14, Arynne Wexler posted a video about the raid (archived link), pointing out that trading on Polymarket is illegal in the U.S., while “Kalshi has a license to operate in the U.S.” and encouraged her followers to “check the platforms you use to ensure they are legal in the U.S.” Like Clown World, Arynne Wexler has also posted other content related to Kalshi before the election (archived link).
If this information is true, these accusations will reveal the brutal behind-the-scenes struggle between the two companies for dominance in the U.S. prediction market, with Kalshi paying large social media accounts to incite a covert PR campaign in its name without clearly disclosing obvious inherent conflicts of interest.
According to Bloomberg, the raid on Shayne's apartment is related to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a settlement agreement reached with the CFTC in 2022, Polymarket was banned from accepting trades from U.S. users, as the company launched trading without prior approval from the agency to become a designated contract market (DCM), paying a $1.4 million fine. Polymarket currently geo-blocks U.S. visitors attempting to create accounts; it is unclear whether the DOJ's investigation involves users circumventing geo-blocks.
Kalshi launched its platform in 2021 after receiving approval from the CFTC (i.e., becoming a DCM in 2020) and offered various non-political event contracts. In 2023, the CFTC rejected Kalshi's application to allow users to trade congressional control contracts. The company sued the agency over that decision, and in September 2024, a district court ruled in favor of Kalshi. Last October, a circuit court denied the CFTC's emergency stay of that ruling, effectively allowing Kalshi to offer event contracts related to congressional control and other political topics.
Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan declined to comment on the matter. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, Keaton Inglis, Antonio Brown, Arynne Wexler, and Clown World did not respond to requests for comments.
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