Founder: Shayne Coplan (CEO)
Launched: 2020
Headquarters: New York City
Funding: N/A
Valuation: N/A
Key Technologies: Blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi)
Industry: Prediction markets
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 list: 0
Polymarket has become one of the leaders in the exploding prediction markets industry, alongside fellow 2026 Disruptor Kalshi, that already has seen more than $60 billion in trading volume so far this year in the U.S. alone.
A series of deals and milestones for Polymarket have quickly been reached as it took advantage of its growing wave of popularity. In October, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced that it would invest up to $2 billion into Polymarket. As part of the partnership, ICE will serve as a global distributor of Polymarket's data and analytics, positioning prediction market data alongside traditional financial market infrastructure.
"By combining ICE's institutional scale and credibility with Polymarket's consumer savvy, we will be able to deliver world-class products for the modern investor," said CEO Shayne Coplan in a statement announcing the deal.
Polymarket has also landed a number of partnerships broadening its reach, ranging from deals with MLB, MLS, the NHL and UFC to the Golden Globes and social media platform X.
Polymarket's monthly trading volumes, including both offshore and U.S. accounts, reached over $10 billion in April, almost triple the level from the year-earlier period, according to a Reuters report citing Dune Analytics.
Founded by Coplan in 2020, Polymarket's rise to prominence has not come without scrutiny. In 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined the company $1.4 million for operating as an unregistered derivatives market and forced it to block U.S. users.
The Justice Department and CFTC then began investigating if Polymarket was still accepting bets from people in the U.S., especially as the platform drew massive attention during the 2024 U.S. presidential election (and the fact that it was one of the first markets to signal a Donald Trump win). Coplan even had his New York City apartment raided by the FBI in November 2024, and had his cellphone and other electronic devices seized.
However, two federal investigations of Polymarket were dropped in July without further action being taken. Coplan was never criminally charged.
Polymarket was ultimately cleared to launch in the U.S. in September following the acquisition of derivatives exchange QCX, a CFTC-licensed exchange, for $112 million. Coplan said in a statement that the deal "marks a significant step toward expanding access to Polymarket's category-defining platform."
Controversy still swirls around prediction markets, especially as it relates to insider trading. In April, a U.S. Army Special Forces master sergeant was arrested for allegedly using classified information to make extremely profitable bets on Polymarket related to the U.S. military mission that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, according to the Department of Justice. That came not long after Kalshi suspended and fined three political candidates for trading on their own campaigns.
"When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ and cooperated with their investigation," the company said at that time. "Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today's arrest is proof the system works."
In March, Polymarket enacted what it defines as "enhanced market integrity rules" to combat insider trading.
Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.
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