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Blockchain-based predictions platform Polymarket is seeking an additional $50 million in new capital amid potential plans to launch a token, The Information reported Monday.
Investors in the round will be issued token warrants, giving them the right to purchase tokens if Polymarket decides to launch them in the future, the outlet reported, citing anonymous sources.
It's unclear whether the tokens will provide additional utility within the platform. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan did not immediately return a request for comment.
It follows the platform’s $70 million raise over two rounds this year, where it picked up $25 million in a Series A led by General Catalyst and an additional $45 million in Series B funding with participation from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Polymarket has been riding high on U.S. election fervor this year, capturing nearly $1 billion in trade volume from those taking a punt on who will become the country’s 47th president.
Built atop the Ethereum and Polygon blockchain networks, Polymarket allows participants to buy and sell shares in different possible outcomes of real-world events. The price of one “share” in a prediction market ranges from $0.00 to $1, and its price correlates to its percentage chance of winning, or its “odds.”
While speculation on who will take the White House in November has helped fuel the platform’s recent surge in popularity, Polymarket also allows betting on pop culture, sporting, and other political events.
And traders are taking outsized bets this year, with total trading volume reaching its highest point on the platform last month, topping out at $472.8 million, according to one Dune dashboard.
Its popularity has led those within the Polymarket community to opine in recent weeks on the possibility of a token to help fund operations, as the platform does not currently charge users fees.
Traders have started altering their behavior in response to the speculation, attempting to artificially boost their trading volume in hopes of securing a larger airdrop reward, according to whales, or large traders, monitoring the activity, Decrypt previously reported.