Not long ago, he was packing up his belongings to sell them and pay rent on his New York apartment. Today, the 26-year-old New Yorker Shayne Coplan owns a stake in a company valued at $9 billion, making him the world’s youngest self-made billionaire thanks to his startup Polymarket.
The platform, which lets users bet on the outcomes of real-world events — from elections to scientific discoveries — has attracted the attention of major investors and has officially entered the U.S. market. In August 2025, Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, invested $2 billion in Polymarket, valuing the company at $9 billion.
Polymarket launched in 2020 — Coplan built the first version of the project right in his bathroom. Despite fines and a ban on operating in the U.S., the team continued developing the platform overseas. In 2024, it became especially popular during the U.S. presidential election, when betting volume exceeded $3 billion.
In 2025, Polymarket legalized its operations in the U.S. after obtaining a QCEX exchange license. Among the new investors are Peter Thiel, Vitalik Buterin and Donald Trump Jr. Today, the project is regarded as one of the most notable innovations in collective analytics and decentralized platforms.
