Polymarket’s Billion-Dollar Bet: Growth Despite Global Bans

Floating money with Polymarket logo

Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction market, is about to raise $200 million in a new funding round that would make the company worth around $1 billion, according to news reports.

This funding is being led by Founders Fund, a company owned by billionaire Peter Thiel, according to local reports.

If the deal goes through, Polymarket would become a “unicorn”, a startup valued at over $1 billion, even though it is banned in the U.S. In fact, the FBI searched the company in November and took electronics from its founder, Shayne Coplan, because of worries that Americans were using the platform illegally.

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Polymarket had already raised over $100 million before this, including a secret $50 million investment earlier in 2025.

This new funding comes shortly after Polymarket partnered with Elon Musk’s social media platform X. They plan to mix Polymarket’s betting markets with insights from Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok.

Restrictions and over $1 billion in trades monthly

Right now, the global prediction market includes about 1.2 million traders, 21,000 active markets, 20 million open bets, and $700 million worth of trades, based on data from Polymarket’s analytics.

According to Dune Analytics, Polymarket saw about $1.1 billion in trading in May. That’s a 56% drop compared to its highest point in November, when trading hit around $2.5 billion.

The company has also been criticized and investigated for claims that some results in its prediction markets may have been manipulated, and it is blocked in the U.S., Polymarket is also banned or has limits in other countries like France, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Poland, and Belgium. The platform faces competition from Kalshi, another platform that is heavily funded by top investors like Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital.

Polymarket is experiencing rapid growth owing to its huge financing and significant collaborations, notwithstanding its encountering prohibitions and scrutiny from regulators. Blockchain, AI, and prediction markets combination are together creating a buzz around the company. The question is still there; the company is growing and has more and more legal battles – will it be able to become the top prediction site in the world by solving the legal issue?

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The Story Sculptor
With a BA in Journalism and over 11 years of experience in Arabic and English media, I bring a newsroom mindset to the fast-paced world of crypto content. From breaking news to in-depth features, I’ve worked across leading platforms. Today, as a content writer in the Web3 space, I aim to make complex topics like blockchain, crypto, and digital innovation accessible to a wider audience, without compromising clarity or credibility.

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