PayPal and Ethereum Founders Invest $70M in Polymarket, a Crypto Betting Startup

^{Pictured: Co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel}

Peter Thiel, the American entrepreneur and co-founder of PayPal, and Vitalik Buterin, the Russian-Canadian programmer who founded Ethereum, have made a substantial investment in the cryptocurrency betting site Polymarket. As reported by Forbes, the funding round amassed around $70 million.

The primary source of funding for the crypto betting startup came from Thiel’s venture capital firm, Founders Fund, known for its previous investments in SpaceX and Facebook.

Shayne Coplan, the founder of Polymarket, underscored Buterin’s financial contribution to the project.

Polymarket offers users the opportunity to place bets on a diverse array of events, from political elections to more light-hearted predictions such as the number of tweets Elon Musk will post within a certain timeframe or whether Taylor Swift will be engaged in 2024. The platform has gained particular popularity among those interested in political betting, with over $125 million already wagered on the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

However, this popularity comes with legal scrutiny. Federal law in the U.S. prohibits betting on elections, casting a shadow over Polymarket’s operations. In January 2022, the platform was hit with a $1.4 million fine by U.S. authorities.