Kalshi funds KOLs to imply that its competitor Polymarket and CEO Shayne Coplan are engaged in illegal activities.
Written by: Pirate Wires
Translated by: Felix, PANews
On November 13, local time, the FBI raided the New York residence of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, seizing his phone and electronic devices. The focus of the FBI investigation is whether the Polymarket platform operates as an unlicensed commodity exchange.
However, it seems that this incident is not just a matter of compliance, but also involves business competition. According to U.S. media outlet Pirate Wires, Kalshi funded KOLs to imply that its competitor Polymarket and CEO Shayne Coplan are engaged in illegal activities. Here are the details.
According to insiders and screenshots received, on the morning of November 13 at 6 AM, after the raid on Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan's SoHo residence, Kalshi paid KOLs on social media to spread news of the raid and promote claims that Shayne and Polymarket were engaged in illegal activities.
Other screenshots provided by sources seem to show that KOLs who posted negative content about Shayne and Polymarket discussed their paid collaboration with Kalshi shortly after the raid. One insider stated that just days after the raid, a third party related to Kalshi offered him $3,500 to write an "aggressive article" about Polymarket.
In one chat screenshot (see below), a Kalshi employee asked former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has 2.2 million X followers, to post specific information about the raid.
Kalshi growth team member Keaton Inglis asked Antonio Brown in the screenshot: "Hey, Antonio Brown, are you going to comment on this with something like 'this black guy seems guilty'?" He seemed to refer to a post by CJ Pearson that implied Shayne was corrupt (archived link). Keaton Inglis's colleague, Kalshi's chief of staff Brendan Beckhardt, added: "Let's get to work."
On November 15, Antonio Brown quoted CJ Pearson's tweet (archived link) and captioned it, "this black guy seems guilty…"
On the same day, a third-party company related to Kalshi offered $3,500 to Gateway Pundit reporter Elijah Schaffer (who has 772,000 followers) to write a "hot article" promoting claims that Polymarket and Shayne were involved in criminal activities. Elijah Schaffer disclosed to media outlet Pirate Wires that he rejected the offer.
Other screenshots show that in the days following the FBI raid on Shayne's apartment, several KOLs pushed anti-Polymarket rhetoric and discussed their paid collaboration with Kalshi.
One screenshot shows a representative from Clown World (with 2.8 million followers) discussing their paid collaboration with Kalshi. On the day after the raid, November 14, the account posted (archive link): "Similar to SBF, raided by the FBI for illegal betting schemes." He was referring to Shayne. Since the election, Clown World has posted other content related to Kalshi multiple times (archive link).
Another screenshot shows Miami influencer Arynne Wexler, who has over 67,000 followers, discussing her "deal" with Kalshi at the end of October. On November 14, Arynne Wexler posted a video about the raid (archive link), stating that trading on Polymarket is illegal in the U.S., while "Kalshi has a license to operate in the U.S." and encouraged her followers to "check the platforms you use to ensure they are legal in the U.S." Like Clown World, Arynne Wexler also posted other content related to Kalshi before the election (archive link).
If this information is true, these allegations would reveal the brutal behind-the-scenes struggle between the two companies for dominance in the U.S. prediction market, with Kalshi paying large social media accounts to incite a covert PR campaign in its name without clearly disclosing apparent conflicts of interest.
According to Bloomberg, the raid on Shayne's apartment is related to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a settlement agreement reached with the CFTC in 2022, Polymarket was banned from accepting trades from U.S. users, having launched trading without prior approval from the agency to become a designated contract market (DCM), and paid a $1.4 million fine. Polymarket currently geo-blocks U.S. visitors attempting to create accounts; it is unclear whether the Department of Justice's investigation involves users circumventing geo-blocks.
Kalshi launched its platform in 2021 after receiving CFTC approval (i.e., becoming a DCM in 2020) and offers various non-political event contracts. In 2023, the CFTC rejected Kalshi's application to allow users to trade congressional control contracts. The company sued the agency over that decision, and in September 2024, a district court ruled in favor of Kalshi. Last October, a circuit court denied the CFTC's emergency stay of that ruling, effectively allowing Kalshi to offer event contracts related to congressional control and other political topics.
Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan declined to comment on the matter. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, Keaton Inglis, Antonio Brown, Arynne Wexler, and Clown World did not respond to requests for comment.
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