Polymarket nears unicorn status with $200m funding round: report

Polymarket, the blockchain-powered prediction platform where traders wagered nearly $3.2 billion on the 2024 U.S. election, is reportedly courting investors in a $200 million round. The deal could push its valuation past $1 billion, propelling it into unicorn territory.

On June 24, The Information reported that Polymarket is closing in on a $200 million funding round, a move that would elevate the decentralized prediction market’s valuation well beyond the billion-dollar threshold.

Sources close to the deal confirm that the raise is in its final stages, with capital earmarked for navigating regulatory hurdles and accelerating international expansion.

If completed, this would eclipse Polymarket’s previous funding record and mark a major milestone following its recent integration with X, which now embeds the platform’s prediction data directly into millions of social media feeds.

Who’s backing Polymarket’s rise and what’s at stake?

While the current round’s participants haven’t been formally disclosed, longtime backers like Founders Fund, Peter Thiel’s investment firm, are widely expected to be involved, alongside crypto-native heavyweights such as Dragonfly and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Market chatter also suggests the latest push has attracted new institutional players, though it remains unclear whether they hail from traditional fintech circles or crypto-focused investment firms.

In May 2024, Polymarket disclosed it had raised a total of $70 million across two prior rounds: a $25 million Series A led by General Catalyst, and a $45 million Series B led by Founders Fund with participation from Buterin and others.

That $70 million figure stood as the platform’s highest funding total to date—but the forthcoming $200 million round would become the largest capital raise in its history.

Attracting more than capital

Still, institutional capital isn’t the only thing Polymarket is attracting. Despite geoblocking U.S. users since its 2022 CFTC settlement, the platform has seen surging volumes, drawing renewed scrutiny from U.S. regulators who remain wary of offshore platforms offering political contracts to domestic users.

CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam’s recent warning about offshore platforms “providing exposure to U.S. customers” was widely interpreted as a reference to Polymarket. Industry analysts suggest that a significant share of Polymarket’s activity comes from U.S.-based traders using VPNs.

In contrast to its regulated competitor Kalshi, Polymarket’s rapid ascent highlights a growing divide between onshore compliance and the crypto-native ethos of permissionless information markets. The upcoming raise will test investor conviction in that model—and may invite another round of regulatory scrutiny.