Polymarket Founder Was Played Dirty By Competitor Kalshi

Key Points:

• Kalshi, a competitor of Polymarket, is accused of paying social media influencers to spread negative narratives about Polymarket founder.
• Screenshots suggest that several influencers were paid to push anti-Polymarket content, with some influencers discussing their paid partnerships with Kalshi.

A recent raid of Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan’s SoHo residence by the FBI now centres around allegations that Kalshi, a competitor in the prediction market space, was funding a sneaky public relations campaign in an effort to discredit Coplan and his company.

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Kalshi Accused of Funding Smear Campaign Against Polymarket Founder Following FBI Raid

According to sources and screenshots viewed by Pirate Wires, Kalshi funded an apparatus of social media influencers to amplify news of the raid and promote claims of illicit activity conducted by Polymarket. This would include things like screenshots of the influencers speaking about having a paid partnership with Kalshi and messages in various group chats allegedly involving Kalshi employees orchestrating posts against Polymarket.

One of the big names that allegedly took part in the campaign is former NFL player Antonio Brown, who has in excess of 2.2 million followers on X. Screenshots appear to show employees of Kalshi asking Brown to post certain content related to the raid.

Individually, journalist Elijah Schaffer, who has 772,000 followers on X, said he was offered $3,500 by a third party affiliated with Kalshi to write a “hit piece” against Polymarket. While Schaffer’s claim could not be independently verified, the offers were reportedly extended to other persons as well.

Polymarket Under Scrutiny as FBI Raid and Regulatory Issues Surface

The raid on Coplan’s apartment, meanwhile, comes as Polymarket continues to navigate regulatory scrutiny. According to reports, the raid was tied to a Department of Justice investigation and occurred on November 13.

Polymarket paid a $1.4 million fine and agreed to cease accepting trades from U.S. users in 2022, part of a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Lawyers for Polymarket founder say he is innocent, and the specifics of the current investigation are not known.