Polymarket · Wall Street · The Block
Polymarket ran into $10 million fraud attempt as its CEO pushed growth over compliance concerns: WSJ
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Polymarket faced an attempted theft of at least $10 million through stolen debit cards earlier this year, while the firm's CEO, Shayne Coplan, urged employees to prioritize growth and downplayed compliance concerns, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation published Saturday.
Key facts
- Donald Trump Jr.'s investment firm, 1789 Capital, is contributing approximately $300 million, on top of roughly $200 million previously invested, the Journal reported
- The latest allegations come as Polymarket seeks roughly $1 billion in financing at a valuation of around $21 billion
- Polymarket faced an attempted theft of at least $10 million through stolen debit cards earlier this year, while the firm's CEO, Shayne Coplan, urged employees to prioritize growth and downplayed
- Coplan also met with 1789 Capital co-founder Omeed Malik in June to discuss preparing the company for a potential IPO in 2027, according to people familiar with the meeting cited by the newspaper
Summary
Per the investigation, fraudsters began targeting Polymarket's U.S.-facing platform in February of 2026, months after the regulated platform began admitting users off its waitlist. Polymarket payment processor Checkout.com, which alerted the prediction market firm to the attack, at one point rejected more than 80% of the Polymarket US deposits it handled as fraudulent, compared to the industry-standard level of roughly 1%, per the report. Polymarket's compliance team, according to the recollections of sources consulted by the Journal, was surprised by Coplan's response: focus on growth now, and worry about any regulatory fines later.