Crypto-based prediction market platform Polymarket has closed a $45 million Series B round led by Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm Founders Fund. With this latest raise, the company’s total funding across two rounds has reached $70 million.
According to the report, the new financing valued Polymarket below the $1 billion level it had previously aimed for. The lower valuation came as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) moved to propose a ban on derivatives tied to political races and sporting events, putting so-called event-betting contracts under heavier scrutiny.
Regulatory Overhang Weighs on the Platform
Polymarket has gained attention by offering markets on outcomes ranging from the upcoming U.S. presidential election to monetary policy decisions. At the same time, it has already faced enforcement action. The platform was previously fined $1.4 million and ordered to shut down non-compliant markets. In early 2022, Polymarket said it would comply with the order and wind down three markets ahead of schedule.
Since then, the company has tried to improve relations with regulators. One notable step was appointing former CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo as chair of its advisory board, a move seen as part of its broader compliance and policy outreach effort.
Investors See Opportunity Outside the U.S.
Commenting on Founders Fund’s decision to back an event-betting platform for the first time, partner Joey Krug said opposition to prediction markets in the U.S. is rooted in what he described as a more puritanical view of betting. In his view, that dynamic could benefit Polymarket in the short to medium term because the company is focused on non-U.S. markets.
Krug also said the firm hopes U.S. citizens will eventually be able to participate in such markets over the longer term. The funding round suggests that despite regulatory uncertainty, investors still see meaningful upside in crypto-based prediction markets and their international growth prospects.