Shayne Coplan
{{Short description|American businessman (born 1998)}}
Shayne Coplan (born 1998) is an American entrepreneur, technologist, and the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Polymarket, a prediction market.{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/11/03/polymarket-ceo-shayne-coplan-crypto-betting-site-us-presidential-election-harris-trump-odds/|title=Who is Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan? The 26-year-old’s crypto betting site is taking U.S. politics by storm|first1=Jeff John |last1=Roberts |first2=Niamh|last2=Rowe|website=Fortune}}{{Cite Q|Q131195855|access-date=2024-11-15}}
Early life and education
Shayne Coplan was born in 1998 and raised on the Upper West Side of New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/09/the-26-year-old-whose-betting-start-up-predicted-trumps-tri/|title=The 26-year-old whose betting start-up predicted Trump’s triumph|first=Matthew|last=Field|date=November 9, 2024|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}} He attended public schools in Hell's Kitchen. Coplan studied computer science at New York University but left before completing his degree to pursue interests in cryptocurrencies and prediction markets.
Career
In 2014, Coplan participated in the initial coin offering of Ethereum and acquired the cryptocurrency when it was priced significantly lower than its later value. Inspired by economist Friedrich Hayek’s theories on decentralized information systems and George Mason University professor Robin Hanson’s work on Futarchy, Coplan founded Polymarket in 2020, which operates as a prediction market using smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain for settling wagers. Coplan’s Polymarket is now the largest prediction market in the world, facilitating over $3.2 billion in bets during the 2024 United States presidential election and featuring prominently in mainstream media coverage of the election. He was raided by the FBI in November 2024.