As part of an investigation into Polymarket, the CFTC subpoenaed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to provide information. What do we know?
CFTC subpoenas Coinbase in Polymarket investigation
On Wednesday evening, Ethereum (ETH) developer Eric Conner shared a screenshot of an email from Coinbase on X, in which the cryptocurrency platform announced that it had been subpoenaed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as part of an investigation into Polymarket.
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Thus, the email in question explains to the interested party that information relating to their account could be transmitted to the government agency, unless otherwise indicated at the end of the day of January 15:
We are writing to inform you that Coinbase has received a subpoena in the above-mentioned matter seeking general customer information, which includes information relating to your account. No action is required on your part, but Coinbase may be required to send information relating to your account to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in response to the subpoena unless Coinbase is formally notified […] on January 15, 2025 by a motion to quash or other legal filing that prevents Coinbase from sharing this information.
Coinbase: register on the most famous crypto exchange in the world
At the same time, a source close to the matter confirmed to our colleagues at Decrypt that a subpoena had indeed been sent to Coinbase. For its part, the cryptocurrency platform clarified that during such requests from a government, it could cooperate if the request was legitimate, or oppose it totally or in part if it was “legally insufficient“.
If it seems clear that here, it is indeed Polymarket which is the subject of a CFTC investigation and not Coinbasethe predictive market platform has not yet commented on the situation at this time.
Furthermore, this affair is reminiscent of the search of the home of Shayne Coplan, the CEO of Polymarket, 2 months ago now. This followed Donald Trump's victory and this action was seen as an attempt at destabilization.
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Last August, let's also remember that 8 Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, wrote to the CFTC to try to ban political betting in the United States, which implicitly included Polymarket.
From now on, we will have to remain attentive to the next elements of this investigation, to try to understand more precisely what is going on.
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Sources: X, Decrypt
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Since 2021, I have devoted my free time to seriously educating myself on cryptocurrencies in order to acquire maximum knowledge and credibility. I often have the opportunity to conduct interviews with influential figures in the blockchain industry. I also conduct in-depth analyzes on Web3 themes to offer exclusive content to Cryptoast readers.
Vincent Maire
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