Nate Silver Joins Polymarket as Advisor

Polymarket, a prominent blockchain-based prediction market, has appointed statistician Nate Silver as an advisor. This move marks a significant step in Polymarket’s growth, especially as it now handles 80% of the wagers on U.S. elections.

Nate Silver, known for his work in election forecasting, will assist Polymarket in enhancing its news event forecasting. Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan expressed his excitement about Silver’s appointment. “I grew up following Nate’s work on election forecasting and it’s a dream come true to welcome him to Polymarket’s advisory board,” Coplan said. “Over the course of his career Nate has played a pivotal role in mainstreaming political forecasting. This election cycle, Polymarket has emerged as the key destination for election forecasts, and Nate’s guidance will be critical in helping us take our offering to the next level.”

Polymarket was founded in 2020 by Shayne Coplan and allows users to wager on a variety of outcomes, with a strong emphasis on U.S. presidential elections. The platform has seen more than $262 million in bets on the 2024 presidential race, with users currently favoring former President Donald Trump. Polymarket has attracted $70 million in venture capital from investors such as Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, bolstering its growth in the prediction market sector.

However, Polymarket is not available to U.S. users due to restrictions from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. All trades are conducted internationally, and the company is exploring the possibility of introducing a regulated product in the U.S. This year, Polymarket has overseen more than $400 million in trades, with significant activity during the first presidential debate.