Coin World reported on Monday that the blockchain-based prediction platform Polymarket is seeking an additional $50 million in new capital and may also be planning to launch a token. The media cited anonymous sources who said that investors in this round of financing would receive token warrants, giving them the right to purchase tokens if Polymarket decides to launch them in the future.
It is currently unclear whether these tokens would offer additional utility within the platform. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Previously, the platform raised $70 million in two funding rounds this year, securing $25 million in Series A funding led by General Catalyst and $45 million in Series B funding with the participation of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Polymarket has been prominent in this year’s US presidential election, accounting for nearly $1 billion in trading volume for bets on who would become the country’s 47th president. Built on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchain networks, Polymarket allows participants to buy and sell shares in different possible outcomes of real-world events. In prediction markets, the price of a “share” ranges from $0.00 to $1, with the price reflecting the percentage or “odds” of it winning.
While speculation on who would take the White House in November has helped drive the platform’s recent popularity surge, Polymarket also allows betting on pop culture, sports, and other political events.
According to Dune, traders have been placing massive bets this year, with the platform reaching its highest total trading volume of $472.8 million last month.
The platform’s popularity has led to discussions within the Polymarket community in recent weeks about the possibility of a token helping to fund operations, as the platform currently does not charge user fees.
Whales or large traders monitoring this activity have reportedly started changing their behavior in response to speculation, attempting to artificially increase trading volumes in hopes of receiving larger airdrop rewards, Decrypt previously reported.
