Polymarket Cleared as DOJ and CFTC Close Investigations Into Crypto Prediction Platform
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have officially closed their investigations into Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction market platform, according to a source familiar with the matter who confirmed the news to Decrypt.
Bloomberg first reported the development, citing an unnamed source with direct knowledge. Polymarket’s founder and CEO Shayne Coplan later confirmed the report in a post on X.
“Eight months ago, on election night, we were on top of the world after Polymarket called the election,” Coplan wrote. “Eight days later, the FBI broke down my door at 6am and took all my computers and phones, looking for anything that could imply foul play.”
Reflecting on the experience, he added: “While traumatic, it etched the story of Polymarket’s accuracy, and the ensuing resistance, into the history of American politics. And today, I’m happy to announce that this chapter of the story is over. After cooperating and engaging, we’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing. Justice prevailed.”
U.S. authorities had been investigating the Ethereum-based platform, which operates on the Polygon scaling network, over concerns it was offering Americans access to unregistered prediction markets. Polymarket had already settled charges with the CFTC in 2022 for failing to register properly.
Polymarket allows users to bet on a wide range of outcomes—from celebrity pregnancies and geopolitical conflicts to the price of Bitcoin. It gained significant attention during last year’s U.S. presidential election, when users bet heavily on Donald Trump’s victory, at times forming a consensus before traditional polling did.
Since Trump won the presidency last year, regulatory scrutiny of the crypto sector has been easing in certain areas. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly dropped multiple investigations into crypto firms.
Trump campaigned on a pro-crypto platform, pledging to support the digital asset industry—a promise that earned him backing from several prominent figures in the crypto space.
