Billion-dollar wager? Donald Trump Jr’s VC fund invests millions in Polymarket; joins prediction market as advisor

US president Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr’s enterprise capital agency, 1789 Capital, has made a big funding in prediction market platform Polymarket, which is now valued at over $1 billion. The growth comes as the corporate gears up for a possible enlargement into the US market following the closure of regulatory investigations.Trump Jr introduced the funding in a submit on X, saying, “Pleased to announce that my fund @1789capital has invested in @Polymarket and that I will be joining the team as a Strategic Advisor.” He added, “Prediction markets have completely changed the way people follow the news. I’m proud to support the industry and look forward to helping Polymarket grow!”News outlet Axios, which first reported the deal, stated 1789 Capital invested a “double-digit” million-dollar quantity into the platform, which claims to have hosted over $6 billion in predictions this yr. The fund, co-founded by Omeed Malik, additionally counts corporations like Anduril and SpaceX in its portfolio.Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, lately acquired derivatives alternate QCEX for $112 million – a transfer that gave it a commodity futures buying and selling fee (CFTC) license and a clearer regulatory pathway into the US market, the place it’s at present not out there to customers.The agency confirmed that each the US division of justice (DOJ) and the CFTC have closed their investigations into Polymarket. The probes had included an FBI search of the corporate’s CEO Shayne Coplan’s house in November final yr. The information outlet additionally reported that discussions between Polymarket and 1789 Capital started round 18 months in the past, however the funding was held again till there was regulatory readability.Interestingly, Trump Jr had earlier joined Polymarket’s rival Kalshi as a strategic advisor. That position is known to be paid however not linked to any monetary funding, leaving Trump Jr with ties to each competing platforms.1789 Capital sees Polymarket as a possible IPO candidate in the close to future.