Polymarket's founder becomes the crypto world's "youngest self-made billionaire"! Implications of issuing coins spark heated discussions?

In the rapidly changing and hero-filled realm of Crypto Assets, a new legend is rising at an astonishing speed. Shayne Coplan, the founder and CEO of the prediction market platform Polymarket, has officially made it onto the Bloomberg Billionaires List at the age of only 27, becoming the youngest “self-made billionaire” in the world. This news not only shook the crypto world but also attracted widespread attention from Wall Street. Along with his immense personal wealth success, rumors about Polymarket potentially issuing its native Token $POLY are also quickly gaining momentum in the community.

From bathroom startup to $9 billion empire

Shayne Coplan's success story did not happen overnight, but is an epic of entrepreneurship filled with grassroots spirit and steadfast belief. Let's rewind to about five years ago in 2020, when Coplan was still a 21-year-old young man who had dropped out of school for two and a half years and had nearly spent all his savings. He once shared a photo, and the scene in the picture was not a glamorous office, but rather the cramped bathroom of a New York apartment, where he set a laptop on a laundry basket to use as a desk, single-handedly typing the first line of code for Polymarket.

In the early days of the pandemic, the world was filled with uncertainty, but Coplan keenly realized: “In this uncertain era, the path to finding the truth will become more important than ever.” This belief became the core spirit of Polymarket and drove him to “overcome all difficulties (against all odds).”

Today, this idea born from a bathroom has grown into a Crypto Assets empire valued at up to $9 billion. According to Dune data, Polymarket has processed over $19 billion in total trading volume since its launch, attracting more than 1.3 million independent users. It allows global users to predict and bet on the outcomes of real-world events such as political elections, economic data, sports events, and even encryption trends, becoming one of the most successful applications in the blockchain field.

The olive branch of Wall Street giants

The key step that propelled Shayne Coplan to the billionaire throne comes from the heart of traditional finance—the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Recently, ICE announced a strategic investment of up to $2 billion in Polymarket, directly boosting Polymarket's post-investment valuation to an astonishing $9 billion. The significance of this deal goes far beyond the capital itself; it represents Wall Street's high recognition of the emerging field of prediction markets and marks a milestone fusion between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi).

After securing this massive investment, Coplan also revealed two previously undisclosed financings from the past year. This includes a $150 million round led by renowned venture capital firm Founders Fund at the beginning of 2025, when the company's valuation was only $1.2 billion. In less than a year, the valuation has nearly increased eightfold, a remarkable growth rate that symbolizes Polymarket's successful leap from a crypto startup to a global platform with the potential for mainstream financial infrastructure.

Coplan's success has placed him among a hall of crypto elites that includes industry giants like Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, making him the youngest new face among them.

$POLY Token imminent?

At the peak of the company's valuation and personal reputation, Shayne Coplan's action reignited the enthusiasm of the entire crypto community. He posted a highly suggestive message on social platform X, listing only five token symbols: $BTC, $ETH, $BNB, $SOL, $POLY?

This brief post is widely interpreted as a strong signal: Polymarket is about to launch its native Token $POLY, and its aim is to directly enter the top five Crypto Assets by market capitalization.

In fact, the speculation about Polymarket's coin issuance is not unfounded. As early as after the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Polymarket's official account posted an ambiguous message: “we predict future drops,” which sparked heated discussions in the community about airdrops.

In addition, stronger evidence comes from regulatory documents. The parent company of Polymarket, Blockratize, was found to have included “other warrants” in its financing terms in documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September 2025. This operational model is highly similar to the practices of projects like the decentralized exchange dYdX before the issuance of tokens, and is viewed as legal and structural preparation for token issuance and airdrops.

From the public hints of the founders, to the official past announcements, and the clues in the SEC documents, various signs seem to point to the same conclusion: the emergence of the $POLY Token may just be a matter of time. If Polymarket ultimately issues a token and airdrops it to early users, it will undoubtedly be a feedback to its loyal community and will provide a more mature capital structure and economic model for the platform itself, further consolidating its leadership position in the prediction market.

From gray areas to financial mainstream

Looking back at the development history of Polymarket, it can be described as a rollercoaster. It was once banned from providing services to U.S. users in 2022 due to not obtaining permission from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and was regarded as a gray area product in the crypto field. However, with the strong appeal of its product and the genuine demand from the market, Polymarket not only weathered the regulatory challenges but also attracted the favor of top institutions like ICE and Founders Fund.

Shayne Coplan's personal success and the rise of Polymarket are the best reflections of the innovative spirit and tenacity of the Crypto Assets industry. Now, with the official entry of Wall Street capital and the heated discussion of native Token issuance, Polymarket and the prediction market it represents are proudly stepping from a niche market into the mainstream stage of global finance. In the future, how this story, begun by the bathroom legend, will write its new chapters is something the whole world is looking forward to.