According to the NY Post they came in at 6am this morning and seized his phone and other electronics: https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/business/fbi-seizes-polymarket...
Heavily armed agents of the Federal Government.
FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
141–150 of 241 posts
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
It can backfire though, you no longer have 5th amendment privileges because you can't say anything incriminating (you're pardon'd from the crime). So you have the take the stand and testify.
Testify to what?
Pretty much whatever you got pardon'd for.
> [1] The pardon would have put Nixon in a difficult position on the witness stand since he would not have been able to assert any Fifth Amendment privilege when questioned about his actions as president.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Richard_Nixon#Afterm...
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#143We clearly don't have enough information about what went down, but betting on political outcomes should be legal. In my opinion, at least. If you can bet on a sports game, you should be allowed to bet on an election.
Would be very meta to bet on the outcome of the subsequent criminal proceedings.
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#144Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Testify to what?
Pretty much whatever you got pardon'd for. > [1] The pardon would have put Nixon in a difficult position on the witness stand since he would not have been able to assert any Fifth Amendment privilege when questioned about his actions as president. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Richard_Nixon#Afterm...
> Incorrect. There is no requirement that even an indictment has occurred in the past.
This thread started with that statement, which is what I based my comments on.
To take the piss on it, only a fool would pardon someone for a crime of which they are not accused.
Are you implying that point?
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
When these sorts of things get in the cross-hairs of the government, it's often not so much "laws against" but rather the lack of laws / regulation. We have seen this with Poker, Crypto, Crypto Exchanges, the lost goes on. If you're operating at the edge, you probably need to be working closely with someone to make damn sure the laws are covering your ass. Or that the laws can be created / changed for the new industr…
The US was not founded on this "permission" mindset. It's a free country. If you are not harming anyone or violating any existing laws, you are free to build new products and services. You do not need permission from bureaucrats to invent something new!
I'm pulling examples from actual US history. If it involves gambling (or similar) or creating alternate forms of money, then watch out. You can believe that you don't need permission, then tell that to the FBI as they are raiding your house.
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
The first amendment of the US constitutions says that it's illegal for the government to make a law which abridges people's freedom of speech. There are many cases of government entities working with social media companies to suppress speech as the Twitter Files have proved. As the government created and upholds those federal entities on the basis of laws, the government is responsible.
The constitution does not make anything a crime
Except treason.
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not familiar with the term 'gambling exchange', where'd you get it? Many 'sportsbooks' are referred to as 'betting exchanges', but that has become something of a term of art, much like the term 'prediction market'. In any case, attempting to use a derogatory or denigrating euphemism to refer to something is usually less productive than simply exposing (what you perceive to be) its faults. What specific issues do…
IIRC There is only one prediction market with a single regulatory exemption granted for the University of Iowa and the bets are limited to $500. The rest of what we see are (binary) event contracts (options) Based on my understanding, which may be incorrect, they seem to be basically a rebranding of binary options which were illegal in the US for the longest time. With a clever renaming trick things now work :)
Wow, I never knew about this exchange: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Electronic_Markets
Thank you to share.
> Rules and limits
> The IEM is neither regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) nor by any other agency due to its academic focus and the small sums that are involved. Indeed, the IEM has received two no-action letters that extend no‑action relief. A speculator may put at risk in the IEM only between $5 and $500.
> They are banned across Europe, Australia, the U.K., and many other jurisdictions because of their volatility and are often seen as wagers more akin to gambling than sound investing.
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can someone explain to me how this is? It's a company HQ'd in New York, but it's not allowed to do business in the very country it's HQ'd in? What am I missing?
You're not missing anything — that's exactly how it is. There's nothing that stipulates that US companies must sell to other US companies, and it's a great place for investments & startups, so even if Polymarket isn't licensed to operate in the US it still makes sense for them to be there.
> and it's a great place for investments & startups, so even if Polymarket isn't licensed to operate in the US it still makes sense for them to be there.
Well, maybe for startups in general, but it apparently didn't work out for Polymarket. Also, it's probably a better case if you're just not targeting US customers, rather than being actually forbidden from trading with US customers.
Re: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan
#150I don’t know if it’s related to this but as a user i ran into this:
I make an account from a US IP. I can’t make a bet.
I use a VPN, while still logged into the same account. I can make a bet. It’s possible that simple IP geo-fences aren’t considered “good enough” to avoid KYC if other information is available (prior IP address or even just IP at signup)