Cryptographic Cold War: After the FBI raided the founder of Polymarket, did competitor Kalshi buy KOLs to influence public opinion?
Kalshi funds KOLs to imply that its competitor Polymarket and CEO Shayne Coplan are engaged in illegal activities.
Author: Pirate Wires
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
On November 13, local time, the FBI raided the New York residence of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, seizing his phone and electronic devices. The focus of the FBI investigation is whether the Polymarket platform operates as an unlicensed commodity exchange.
However, it seems that this incident is not just about compliance, but also involves business competition. According to U.S. media outlet Pirate Wires, Kalshi funded KOLs to suggest that its competitor Polymarket and CEO Shayne Coplan were engaged in illegal activities. Here are the details.
According to insiders and screenshots received, at 6 a.m. on November 13, after the raid on Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's SoHo residence, Polymarket's competitor Kalshi paid KOLs on social media to spread news of the raid and promote claims that Shayne and Polymarket were involved in illegal activities.
Other screenshots provided by sources seem to show that KOLs who posted negative content about Shayne and Polymarket discussed their paid collaboration with Kalshi shortly after the raid. One insider stated that just days after the raid, a third party associated with Kalshi offered him $3,500 to write an "attack article" about Polymarket.
In one chat screenshot (see below), a Kalshi employee asked former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has 2.2 million followers, to post specific information about the raid.
Kalshi growth team member Keaton Inglis asked Antonio Brown in the screenshot: "Hey, Antonio Brown, are you planning to comment on this with something like 'this black guy seems guilty'?" He seemed to be referring to a post by CJ Pearson that implied Shayne was corrupt post . Keaton Inglis's colleague, Kalshi's Chief of Staff Brendan Beckhardt, added: "Let's get to work."
On November 15, Antonio Brown quoted CJ Pearson's tweet and captioned it, "this black guy seems guilty…"
On the same day, a third-party company associated with Kalshi offered $3,500 to Gateway Pundit reporter Elijah Schaffer (who has 772,000 followers) to write a "hot article" promoting claims that Polymarket and Shayne were involved in criminal activities. Elijah Schaffer disclosed to media outlet Pirate Wires over the phone that he rejected the proposal.
Other screenshots show that in the days following the FBI raid on Shayne's apartment, several KOLs promoted anti-Polymarket rhetoric and discussed their paid collaboration with Kalshi.
One screenshot shows a representative from Clown World (with 2.8 million followers) discussing their paid collaboration with Kalshi. On the day after the raid, November 14, the account posted: "SBF lookalike raided by the FBI for illegal betting scheme." He was referring to Shayne. Since the election, Clown World has posted other content related to Kalshi multiple times.
Another screenshot shows Miami influencer Arynne Wexler, who has over 67,000 followers, discussing her "deal" with Kalshi at the end of October. On November 14, Arynne Wexler posted a video about the raid, pointing out that trading on Polymarket is illegal in the U.S., while "Kalshi has a license to operate in the U.S." and encouraged her followers to "check the platforms you use to ensure they are legal in the U.S." Like Clown World, Arynne Wexler has also posted other content related to Kalshi before the election.
If this information is true, these allegations would reveal the brutal behind-the-scenes struggle between the two companies for dominance in the U.S. prediction market, with Kalshi paying large social media accounts to incite a covert PR campaign in its name without clearly disclosing apparent conflicts of interest.
According to Bloomberg, the raid on Shayne's apartment is related to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a settlement agreement reached with the CFTC in 2022, Polymarket was banned from accepting trades from U.S. users, having launched trading without prior approval from the agency to become a designated contract market (DCM), and paid a $1.4 million fine. Polymarket currently geo-blocks U.S. visitors attempting to create accounts; it remains unclear whether the DOJ's investigation involves users circumventing the geo-block.
Kalshi launched its platform in 2021 after receiving CFTC approval (i.e., becoming a DCM in 2020) and offers a variety of non-political event contracts. In 2023, the CFTC rejected Kalshi's application to allow users to trade congressional control contracts. The company sued the agency over that decision, and in September 2024, a district court ruled in favor of Kalshi. Last October, a circuit court denied the CFTC's emergency stay of that ruling, effectively allowing Kalshi to offer event contracts related to congressional control and other political topics.
Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan declined to comment on the matter. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, Keaton Inglis, Antonio Brown, Arynne Wexler, and Clown World did not respond to requests for comment.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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