According to a Sept. 23 report by tech outlet The Information citing ‘people familiar with the matter,’ the blockchain prediction platform is in talks to raise $50 million in funding.
The New York-based company is also considering issuing its own token to run its betting market, with potential funding round investors receiving warrants to buy these coins, according to the report.
Polymarket would use the token “as a way for users to validate the outcome of real-world events.” If it goes ahead, it would be one of the most “high-profile token debuts” since the 2022 bear market, it added.
Polymarket Growth Surges
Polymarket previously raised $70 million in two funding rounds, including a $45 million Series B led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
The platform is particularly popular for U.S. presidential election betting, with nearly $1 billion staked on this event representing 85% of its volume. It has also been used to bet on Taylor Swift’s engagement prospects and Superbowl Winners.
Kamala Harris’ lead is down to 3% in the odds.
43 days until the election. pic.twitter.com/Ua6UvlAVLK
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) September 23, 2024
The platform uses layer-2 blockchain technology from Polygon and oracle services from UMA Protocol and settles bets in the USDC stablecoin. However, due to regulatory restrictions, Polymarket blocks U.S. IP addresses, though some users reportedly bypass this using VPNs.
US regulators are not happy with the platform, however. CFTC Chairman Rostin Benham has previously warned about offshore election-betting platforms serving U.S. customers, implying potential regulatory action.
Polymarket has seen significant growth, with monthly trading volume reaching $472 million in August, according to Dune Analytics. It is on track to break that record for September, which has already seen $400 million.
Moreover, monthly volumes have surged by 774% since the beginning of this year. Monthly active traders on the platform have already peaked at 64,524 in September.
Crypto Funding Ticks Up
According to DeFiLlama, there was $634 million in crypto funding in August. This represents a gain of 130% over the same month in 2023.
However, crypto venture funding remains down from its peak at the end of 2021, when more than $3 billion was invested in blockchain startups every month.
Two of this month’s larger raises were for DeFi “superapp” LogX, which raised $4 million, and cross-chain liquidity platform Prime Protocol, which raised $1.25 million.