Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of the blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket, has become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The milestone follows Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announcing Tuesday that it would invest as much as $2 billion in the company at an $8 billion pre-money valuation. ICE owns the New York Stock Exchange, one of the world’s most powerful financial institutions.
Coplan, now 27, launched Polymarket in June 2020 after spending a year studying how prediction markets could improve decision-making. The platform lets users wager on real-world outcomes, from elections to sports to economic indicators, using cryptocurrency.
Polymarket’s breakout moment came during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, when user