Polymarket is reportedly gearing up to introduce a new token as the company navigates discussions to secure $50 million in fresh funding, according to a report from The Information.
This upcoming token may come with offers of warrants for future token acquisitions as part of the funding round. However, details surrounding whether investors will receive equity, token warrants, or a combination of both remain unclear.
The new token is expected to empower users to validate outcomes of real-world events, although it is still uncertain if it will complement or replace the platform’s existing infrastructure that utilizes the UMA Protocol, which depends on community voting for market resolution.
This latest fundraising endeavor follows Polymarket’s previous efforts, which successfully raised a total of $70 million, attracting investments from high-profile backers including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum.
Polymarket’s Journey to Success
Since its inception on the Ethereum layer-2 network Polygon in 2020, Polymarket has established itself as a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space. The platform has thrived over the past year, especially with the focus sharpened on the impending US elections.
Major media networks such as CNN and Bloomberg have highlighted Polymarket in their reports, further enhancing its visibility and reputation.
Recently, Polymarket surpassed a remarkable milestone of over $400 million in trading volume this September, reporting more than 65,000 monthly active traders, as per data from Dune Analytics. The platform’s cumulative trading volume has now crossed $1 billion.
However, such success has attracted the attention of regulatory bodies. The Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, has mentioned that the commission is closely monitoring the activities of offshore election-betting platforms that involve US customers.
Speculations Around Airdrops
The news concerning the imminent token launch has sparked speculation regarding a possible airdrop for early users of Polymarket.
As a result, traders have been actively increasing their trading volumes in anticipation of securing a larger share of potential airdrop rewards.
CC2Ventures, a well-known figure in the airdrop farming community, recently commented:
“[Polymarket] could potentially be one of the fattest airdrops in history given their PMF and mindshare, particularly if: The initial Snapshot is already taken. Even multiple seasons would be fine, as long as early adopters who used the protocol ‘before it was obvious’ have already received their share of incentives.”