Media: Leading prediction crypto market Polymarket to launch its own token

What’s new? The team at Polymarket, the largest decentralized cryptocurrency prediction market, plans to launch its own token and raise $50 million. As part of the funding round, the company may offer investors warrants to buy tokens, equity stakes, or a combination of these assets, The Information reports.

Material by The Information

What else is known? Polymarket was launched on the Polygon Layer 2 (L2) network on the Ethereum blockchain in 2020. During 2024, the popularity of the platform has increased significantly due to the upcoming November US presidential election. Thus, the total volume of bets on Polymarket on the outcome of this event approached $1 billion.

Earlier this month, the integration of Polymarket was carried out by the aggregator Bloomberg Terminal. CEO of the platform Shayne Coplan commented on this event: “Entering mainstream news and finance before our eyes. <…> as 10s of millions of people build habit around relying on Polymarket forecasts as a source of truth, to make sense of what’s going on in the world.” Other major media outlets, including CNN, have also started referring to Polymarket in their stories.

Since June, the monthly trading volume of the platform has jumped by 322%, according to the analytical platform Dune. So far, the record mark was recorded in August ($472,8 million), but at the end of September, the maximum can be updated, because now the figure from the beginning of the month is $408 million.

The number of active traders for the last three months has also increased by 126%. The record was set at 66 509 at the beginning of September.

However, this success has drawn the close attention of regulators. US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Benham, warned that any activity on offshore election betting platforms that puts customers in the US at risk is being monitored.

News of the token’s possible launch has sparked discussions in the community about a possible airdrop for early users. Already, traders are increasing trading volumes in hopes of reaping greater rewards. However, the Polymarket team has not yet officially announced plans to launch the coin and conduct an airdrop.