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By Helene Braun, AI Boost|Edited by Stephen Alpher
Aug 26, 2025, 3:01 p.m.
- Venture Capital Firm 1789 Capital — of which Donald Trump, Jr. is a partner — has made a strategic investment in blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket.
- According to Axios, the investment was double-digit millions of dollars.
- Polymarket recently reached a $1 billion valuation as it nears the close of a $200 million funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
Donald Trump Jr. has invested in blockchain-based prediction platform Polymarket through his venture firm 1789 Capital. As part of the deal, Trump Jr. will join Polymarket’s advisory board, according to a press release.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The investment comes as part of a push by 1789 Capital into crypto-related infrastructure and alternative finance tools. According to Axios, 1789 committed tens of millions of dollars to Polymarket and had been in discussions with the company for the past 18 months.
Polymarket, which allows users to bet on the outcomes of real-world events such as elections, court rulings and geopolitical conflicts, has seen sharp growth in user activity. During the last U.S. election cycle alone, the platform has processed more than $8 billion in bets. That volume has put it ahead of major online sports betting operators like FanDuel, DraftKings and Betfair in terms of traffic.
The company recently closed in on a $200 million funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, pushing its valuation to $1 billion.
While Polymarket currently blocks U.S.-based users from participating in its betting markets due to regulatory restrictions, its recent acquisition of derivatives exchange QCEX could change that. QCEX holds a license from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which opens the door for Polymarket to offer legally compliant prediction markets to American users in the future.
Prediction markets — where users stake funds on the outcomes of events — have drawn renewed attention for their accuracy and speed compared to traditional polling or punditry. In the run-up to elections or court rulings, these markets often serve as real-time gauges of public sentiment and risk assessment.
The investment aligns with 1789 Capital’s stated mission to back technologies that reinforce “American dynamism” — a term increasingly used by conservative venture capital circles to describe a return to domestic innovation and self-sufficiency.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Helene is a New York-based markets reporter at CoinDesk, covering the latest news from Wall Street, the rise of the spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds and updates on crypto markets. She is a graduate of New York University’s business and economic reporting program and has appeared on CBS News, YahooFinance and Nasdaq TradeTalks. She holds BTC and ETH.
“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy.
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