Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan briefly became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in October at age 27. However, he is by no means an overnight success.
“What people call an ‘overnight success’ takes a decade,” Coplan said on Dec. 2 on X.
Coplan shared an October 2013 email he sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission at the age of 14, detailing his intentions to create an electronic communication network-based stock exchange.
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“My name is Shayne Coplan. I’m a high school sophomore here in Manhattan,” he said in the email. “I’m creating an ECN based stock exchange, and my first line of task is to make sure my idea is totally legal, and can comply with SEC regulations.”
“I plan for this to be a registered National Securities Exchange, where mainly upcoming tech companies can enlist on the exchange, and be a traded security,” he continued. “I have a couple of specifics about the exchange that will set it apart from the other main exchanges, but I won’t get into that now.”
Two years later, Coplan interned at internet startup Genius, where he reportedly made an impression with his “wild curls” and “encyclopedic knowledge of billionaire tech entrepreneurs.” He bagged the internship after showing up uninvited at the company’s office following several unreturned emails.
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Coplan then briefly studied computer science at New York University before dropping out in 2017 to work on several cryptocurrency-related projects that failed.
It was not until 2020 that Coplan founded blockchain-based prediction market platform Polymarket. The project found mainstream success in 2024 as its U.S. presidential election market attracted billions of dollars in volume and correctly predicted the outcome, besting traditional polls.
Polymarket has carried that momentum into this year, with record volumes in recent months. The momentum has also attracted big investors.
Coplan in October announced that New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) would invest $2 billion in Polymarket, valuing the platform at $9 billion post-money.
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The investment sent Coplan’s net worth to $1 billion, according to Forbes.
However, Polymarket’s road to success has not been without hurdles. In 2022, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission alleged the platform was operating an “illegal unregistered or non-designated facility.” Polymarket settled the charges for $1.4 million and blocked U.S. users.
In 2024, U.S. the Department of Justice and CFTC launched investigations into Polymarket on suspicion that it was still allowing U.S. users on to its platform. These probes were closed in July amid the pro-cryptocurrency tilt of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Polymarket reopened to U.S. users last week. The return follows the platform’s acquisition of a CFTC-licensed exchange earlier in the year.
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