Polymarket is raising $200 million at a valuation of over $1 billion for the world’s biggest prediction market

Polymarket, the biggest blockchain-based prediction market, is reportedly wrapping up a $200 million funding round that would push its valuation north of $1 billion, The Information and CoinDesk reported. The round, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, includes $50 million in previously undisclosed capital and signals how far the platform has come in just a few years.

“Polymarket is nearing a $200 million funding round led by Founders Fund, valuing the platform at $1 billion, including $50 million in previously unannounced funding,” CoinDesk reported.

A Platform on the Rise

Launched in 2020 by Shayne Coplan, Polymarket lets users bet crypto on real-world events—anything from election outcomes to inflation rates. What makes it stand out? Speed and accuracy. Its markets often reflect shifts in public sentiment faster than traditional polls, and in some cases, with better results.

During the 2024 U.S. presidential election alone, over $8 billion in bets were placed on Polymarket, with more than $3.3 billion tied to political outcomes. In May 2025, the site hit a new milestone with 15.9 million visits, beating big names like FanDuel and DraftKings, according to SimilarWeb data shared via CoinDesk.

Backers aren’t just watching—many are investing. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund are among those betting on Polymarket’s future. Its recent partnership with Elon Musk’s X and xAI, announced on June 6, 2025, further cemented its mainstream appeal. Through this deal, Polymarket became the official prediction partner of X, blending real-time posts and Grok AI analysis into its forecasts, offering a kind of pulse check on what people believe will happen next.

Inside the Funding Deal

As first reported by The Information, the new round builds on Polymarket’s previous raise in May—$70 million split between a $25 million Series A led by General Catalyst and a $45 million Series B from Founders Fund. This fresh capital is expected to support product development and help Polymarket deal with U.S. regulatory issues, which currently block access for American users due to gambling restrictions.

Hitting a $1 billion+ valuation puts Polymarket in rare company within crypto. What’s different is how it got there. While many blockchain startups dangle tokens to attract users, Polymarket’s growth has been mostly organic. With a reported total value locked (TVL) of $127 million and around 30,000 daily active users—including some big-money traders—its trading volume hit $1 billion in May alone. That dwarfs rivals like Kalshi, which saw just $14 million over the same period.

What’s Real, What’s Hype?

The numbers are impressive, but not everyone’s convinced the hype matches the long-term outlook.

Polymarket’s pitch is that group predictions can surface truths that traditional polling misses. But that claim was tested during the 2024 election, when its odds often looked very different from mainstream forecasts. Some argue that high-stakes bettors distort the market; others say they’re just ahead of the curve. Either way, it’s sparking serious debates about whether decentralized markets can really predict better, or if they just feel that way.

Then there’s the legal side. Polymarket previously settled with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and has since brought on a former CFTC chair to help shape its regulatory strategy. Still, it’s walking a fine line, especially in the U.S., where its crypto-based model sits in legal limbo.

And while the backing of figures like Thiel and Musk adds clout, it also invites scrutiny. Their influence could make the platform look less neutral, especially given the controversies surrounding X’s content moderation and political ties. As DL News pointed out, aligning too closely with X might come at the cost of user trust.

What’s Next

Polymarket’s $200 million raise is a big moment for the company and for prediction markets in general. The fact that it’s grown this much without launching its own token is unusual in crypto. There are rumors that a token might be on the horizon, but for now, the team appears focused on scale, partnerships, and compliance.

The next challenge? Making sure the platform remains useful, legal, and trustworthy. If Polymarket can do that, it won’t just be a prediction platform. It could become a central piece of how people across the web interpret what’s happening in real time, from politics to pop culture.

For now, it’s a bold experiment with real money, real stakes, and a growing audience watching to see how far it can go.