Article source: Felix
Author: Pirate Wires
Translated by: Felix, PANews
On November 13 local time, the FBI raided the New York residence of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, seizing his phone and electronic devices. The FBI's investigation focused on whether the Polymarket platform was operating as an unlicensed commodity exchange.
However, it seems that this incident is not merely about compliance, but also involves business competition. According to U.S. media outlet Pirate Wires, Kalshi funded KOLs to imply that its competitor Polymarket and CEO Shayne Coplan were engaging in illegal activities. Here are the details.
According to informed sources and screenshots received, on the morning of November 13 at 6 AM, after the raid on the Soho residence of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, Polymarket's competitor Kalshi paid KOLs on social media to spread news of the raid and promote claims that Shayne and Polymarket were engaged in illegal activities.
Additional screenshots provided by sources seem to show that after the raid, KOLs posting negative content about Shayne and Polymarket discussed the fact that they were paid to collaborate with Kalshi. One source stated that just days after the raid, a third party related to Kalshi offered him $3,500 to write a "hit piece" 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 be referring to a post by CJ Pearson that implied Shayne was corrupt (archive link). Keaton Inglis's colleague, Kalshi's chief of staff Brendan Beckhardt, added, "Let's get started."
On November 15, Antonio Brown quoted CJ Pearson's tweet (archive link) and commented, "This black guy seems guilty..."
On the same day, a third-party company related to Kalshi offered Gateway Pundit reporter Elijah Schaffer (who has 772,000 followers) $3,500 to write a "hit piece" promoting claims of Polymarket and Shayne's involvement in criminal activities. Elijah Schaffer disclosed to media outlet Pirate Wires over the phone that he rejected the proposal.
Other screenshots show that in the days following the FBI raid on Shayne's apartment, several KOLs pushed anti-Polymarket rhetoric 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, the account posted (archive link), "Similar to SBF, a person was raided by the FBI for illegal betting schemes." He was referring to Shayne. Since the election, Clown World has repeatedly posted other Kalshi-related content (archive link).
Another screenshot shows Miami influencer Arynne Wexler, who has over 67,000 followers, discussing her "trading" with Kalshi at the end of October. On November 14, Arynne Wexler posted a video about the raid (archive link), stating 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 platform you are using to ensure they are legal in the U.S." Like Clown World, Arynne Wexler also posted other Kalshi-related content before the election (archive link).
If this information is true, these allegations will reveal a 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 apparent 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 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 fine of $1.4 million. Polymarket currently geo-blocks U.S. visitors attempting to create accounts; it is unclear whether the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation involves users circumventing geo-blocks.
Kalshi launched its platform in 2021 after receiving approval from the CFTC (becoming a DCM in 2020), offering various non-political activity 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 motion to stay that ruling, effectively allowing Kalshi to offer activity 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 comment.
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