FBI seizes phone and computer from boss of betting firm that predicted Donald Trump win

The FBI has seized the CEO of Polymarket’s phone and electronics after the election-betting platform successfully forecast Donald Trump’s win.

Shayne Coplan, 26, was picked up at his Soho home during a dawn raid on Wednesday, sources told the New York Post. 

The insider blasted the seizure as ‘grand political theater at its worst’. 

‘They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things. Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons,’ the source said.

Coplan was reportedly not arrested or given a reason for the raid, but it is thought to be linked to his accurate predictions which outsmarted traditional polls.

‘This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,’ the source added.

Polymarket signaled for weeks that Trump would win.

Coplan said in a post on X after the results were announced: ‘Make no mistake, Polymarket single-handedly called the election before anything else. The global truth machine is here, powered by the people.’

In a statement to the New York Post, Polymarket said it is a ‘fully transparent prediction market’.

‘We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good.’

Coplan has been the subject of praise from Elon Musk and American statistician Nate Silver after his site managed to foreshadow the results of the November 5 US election.