Ive known Polymarkets CEO for years heres why the FBI raid is a scandal
The FBI’s raid on the founder of the online betting site Polymarket shows that the Lawfare Era under the Biden-Harris administration didn’t die after Donald Trump’s decisive victory on Election Day.Instead, the “deep state” picked a quarry that is less famous, less powerful, less wealthy, less tall, and less loud than the president-elect.And he may be the worst-dressed person I have ever met.But Polymarket boss Shayne Coplan appears to be a favored punching bag for everyone who is furious that his technology predicted the election with staggering accuracy.
His online betting market also presciently predicted that President Joe Biden would exit the campaign around the same time network pundits were toadying up to Fighting Joe’s never-been-better fitness. Coplan is known in New York startup circles as a privately jovial but publicly shy tech purist who will sit behind his laptop for days when “jamming” on Polymarket code. In my several years of knowing Coplan, I have never once heard him discuss politics with interest or enthusiasm.To initiate any conversation about politics is a surefire way to drive Coplan back into his iPhone to email with his small and scrappy engineering team. Perhaps this is to his detriment.
The Democrats seem to have lost their iron grip on Big Tech by slapping down builders and enriching those who master the art of lobbying and regulatory gymnastics.Is this where we want our young innovators to focus their precious time and limited capital? That Polymarket or Coplan could be “brought down” by the FBI is a non-starter, given the critical role it played in the election and the sheer number of important people who use it as an irreplaceable information resource.
Even Elon Musk tweeted his support. More importantly, betting on the news or elections is not even illegal.It is perfectly legal in the United States, though Polymarket itself is still earnestly navigating a years-long regulatory waltz that forced it overseas...