The U.S. Department of Justice accuses Polymarket of allowing U.S. users to trade and launches an investigation into it

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating cryptocurrency prediction platform Polymarket, accusing it of accepting trades from U.S. users, according to people familiar with the matter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a search warrant for Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and seized his mobile phone and electronic devices. Under an agreement reached with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022, Polymarket will block U.S. traders from trading on the platform. In a statement, Polymarket said the company would "stand up for ourselves and our community" and accused the FBI's search of being politically motivated. "Polymarket is a completely transparent prediction market that helps ordinary people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections." The company, led by Coplan, reached an enforcement settlement with the CFTC two years ago, in addition to agreeing to block U.S. users, it also paid a $1.4 million fine. The company said in recent weeks that it has taken additional steps to verify and block users it suspects may be U.S. citizens or reside in the United States. (Bloomberg)