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The ‘Bad Blood’ Between Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan and Kalshi’s Tarek Mansour
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- In November 2024, FBI agents raided Shayne Coplan's New York apartment, founder of Polymarket, investigating illegal betting activities on his platform.
- Polymarket's founder publicly claimed the raid was politically motivated by the Biden administration, but privately suspected rival Kalshi's CEO, Tarek Mansour, was behind the issues.
- Kalshi's lawyers had met with federal prosecutors prior to the raid, highlighting that Polymarket allowed U.S. customers to use its platform despite a ban.
- The raid marked a peak in the intense rivalry between Polymarket and Kalshi, two leading prediction market startups led by billionaire founders Coplan and Mansour.
- Their feud extends beyond typical corporate competition, with deep personal animosity influencing their companies' interactions, as revealed by numerous insiders.
