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Decentralized financial exchange and global prediction market Polymarket has condemned the New York Times for reporting on the platform’s alleged bias. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan responded directly to a New York Times article that accused the prediction platform of manipulation and showing favoritism.
In a long-form X post, Coplan says that his New York-based startup is “strictly non-partisan,” explaining that the platform is regularly accused of being “Dem operatives and MAGA” at different times. According to Coplan, the reality is not as exciting because Polymarket’s focus is to provide members of the general public with an alternative data source.
The New York Times post described the website’s services as “crypto-powered gambling.” The website allows people to bet on the outcome of several events, such as the US Presidential elections. Polymarket’s betting service and support for cryptocurrencies can be likened to online casino platforms that allow players to place bets using several support digital assets. Via crypto, players can enjoy a seamless experience at Bitcoin casinos with instant withdrawals and payouts. These platforms also have other benefits, including access to gameplay on platforms like Telegram, attractive rakeback, as well as complete anonymity. Instead of betting on the elections, players compete in blackjack, poker, roulette, baccarat, and several other exciting casino games.
Like online crypto casinos, Coplan says that Polymarket is fully decentralized. He also explains in his post that the platform is not about politics and was never designed to be a political website. However, Coplan believes Polymarket has been “pulled onto center stage” in the current US election cycle because people are tired of untrustworthy information. Boasting about the platform’s reliability, Coplan points out that Polymarket correctly forecasted President Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. Emphasizing the decentralization and public access, Coplan said:
“The beauty of Polymarket is it’s all peer-to-peer and transparent. Even more transparent than traditional finance, where all the data is obfuscated and only visible to the operator. That’s why everyone is able to audit all the usage – which is a good thing for free markets. A feature, not a bug.”
Coplan also explains that the market sets prices and not the operator, describing this as the “invisible hand, not the thumb on the scale.” According to him, people on the platform can disagree with the market price and buy the side priced low.
The CEO also addressed comments that Polymarket is controlled by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, specifying that the popular entrepreneur has no control over the prediction platform or any of its outcomes. Reiterating the democratized nature of bets on Polymarket, Coplan envisions a world where decision-making is guided by popular, liquid, and accessible markets.
Last Friday, the New York Times published the article, which highlighted Trump’s lead on Polymarket, and stated that numbers on the platform may not reflect real-life sentiments towards the former president because the odds in his favor improved after four accounts bet a heavy $30 million on the likelihood that he will win. In addition, the article referenced Barnard College economics professor Rajiv Sethi, who believes that the people behind the heavy votes were probably willing to absorb potential losses to swing public perceptions in Trump’s favor.
In 2021, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigated the New York startup and agreed to pay a $1.4 million fine and ban US gamblers from its site. However, the New York Times referenced an unnamed former employee who says that US users are still betting on Polymarket, using virtual private networks (VPNs).
