The founder of Polymarket becomes the youngest self-made billionaire tracked by Bloomberg Index

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Shayne Coplan, the 27-year-old founder of the prediction market platform Polymarket, has entered the ranks of billionaires with a pre-funding valuation of $8 billion after securing a maximum investment of $2 billion from the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). He has become the youngest self-made billionaire tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Coplan once sold items from his apartment to cover rent due to financial difficulties. Inspired by economist Robin Hanson's prediction market theory, he started building Polymarket in his bathroom in 2019 and officially launched it in June 2020. Despite facing regulatory restrictions early on for operating an unregistered trading platform and even being searched by the FBI, Polymarket has now attracted Wall Street giants due to the explosive growth of prediction markets.