Donald Trump’s company Truth Social is launching a competitor to Polymarket
“If you had to point to one reason [crypto prediction markets] “If you are able to return to the United States, you have to point it out to the Trump administration,” Zach Hamilton, founder of cryptocurrency startup Sarcophagus, says in an interview with WIRED. I mean, that’s it.”
Even before prediction came true, the Trump family had a financial interest in the spread of prediction markets in the United States.
In January, Donald Trump Jr. joined Calci as A.J Strategic advisor. Then, in August, Polymarket Received investment From 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm where Trump Jr. serves as a partner. As part of the deal, Trump Jr. joined Polymarket’s advisory board.
The ties between the Trump family and Polymarket, established at a time when Polymarket was seeking to return to the United States, have come under scrutiny from critics who claim the investment could amount to a conflict of interest. They claim the deal creates an opportunity for the Trump family to benefit from policy changes instigated by the Trump administration.
“Nobody is saying that the president’s family members can’t engage in normal capitalist activities in a capitalist country,” says Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, an organization that seeks to scrutinize the behavior of elected officials. “But Polymarket is the subject of heated political debate. As such, the investment reflects a significant conflict of interest – one that can be avoided.”
“Neither the President nor his family have ever been, or will ever be, involved in a conflict of interest,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement to WIRED.
Polymarket, TMTG and 1789 Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The launch of the “truth prediction” also creates a scenario in which separate aspects of the Trump family’s business empire could effectively compete against each other.
“From a venture capital perspective, a lot of us don’t like to invest in competing projects,” says Chris Perkins, managing partner at cryptocurrency firm CoinFund. “We try to avoid that.” “We are trying to identify category winners.”
Already, companies linked to the Trump family run competing Bitcoin treasuries. In June, a dispute erupted over which corporate entities were allowed to launch an “official” Trump-branded cryptocurrency wallet.