Briefly
- Stablecoin startup P2P.me went viral on X after apologizing for putting Polymarket wagers by itself fundraising efforts.
- P2P.me’s largest backers had been unaware of the corporate’s current wagers, two folks aware of the matter informed Decrypt.
- The wagers had been positioned across the time that Polymarket up to date its guidelines to ban insider buying and selling, together with by those that can affect markets’ outcomes.
P2P.me was established to push boundaries with stablecoins, however the startup has decided that wagering on itself by way of Polymarket might have been a bridge too far.
On Saturday, the agency backed by Coinbase Ventures and Multicoin Capital apologized for speculating on its newest fundraising spherical utilizing the prediction market, describing the transfer in a put up on X as an inappropriate try at conveying conviction to the general public.
In complete, the corporate that payments itself as a non-custodial service for changing between stablecoins and money signaled that it notched lower than $15,000 in income on the prediction market transfer. Nonetheless, it acknowledged how a small payday might carry outsized penalties.
“It created confusion and harm belief,” P2P.me mentioned. “We must always have let the work, the product, and the mission communicate for themselves. That was our mistake.”
We took our prediction markets place as a result of we believed strongly in what we’re constructing, and we needed to indicate that conviction in public, with our personal title connected. In an setting the place many groups ask others to consider earlier than they’re keen to again themselves, we…
— P2P.me (TGE arc) (@P2Pdotme) March 28, 2026
As prediction markets have exploded in recognition, so too have considerations that the platforms may be abused by insiders who’ve entry to confidential info. Latest enforcement actions and arrests have targeted on the habits of people, however P2P.me’s mea culpa indicators that questionable decisions also can come up on the firm stage.
P2P.me’s wagers centered on MetaDAO, a Solana-based fundraising and governance platform. Among the firm’s bets stood to win if $140 million in funding was dedicated to P2P.me by means of MetaDAO, however the ones that hit hinged on a $6 million milestone.
In a put up on X, Prohp3t, a pseudonymous co-founder of MetaDAO, mentioned the platform would’ve pushed P2P.me to avoid Polymarket had it identified what was coming. They didn’t assist the habits, however argued that it resembled “a guerrilla advertising and marketing stunt gone too far.”
Within the title of investor safety, Prohp3t mentioned that MetaDAO would facilitate refunds for buyers who need out earlier than P2P.me’s public fundraise concludes on Tuesday. A spokesperson informed Decrypt that $20,000 value of refunds out of $6.7 million dedicated had been requested.
For P2P.me’s largest backers, the conduct additionally got here as a shock. Some had been unaware that the India-based stablecoin agency was betting by itself fundraise, two folks aware of the matter informed Decrypt.
Earlier than it started soliciting funds on MetaDAO, P2P.me raised $2 million in a seed funding spherical led by Coinbase Ventures and Multicoin Capital. A Coinbase Ventures spokesperson informed Decrypt that the agency hasn’t allotted past the preliminary fundraise.
On the time that P2P.me positioned its bets on Polymarket, the agency mentioned on X that it had solely obtained a $3 million “oral dedication” from Multicoin, which wasn’t binding. On high of that, the wagers had been made 10 days earlier than the general public fundraising marketing campaign went stay, the corporate added.
P2P mentioned that it named its Polymarket account “P2P Crew” for transparency’s sake. In complete, the account has made 27 predictions. Its largest win to this point, $8,173, got here in January. The agency had wagered that one other MetaDAO mission wouldn’t obtain $100 million in commitments.
A pair days earlier than MetaDAO’s fundraise went stay on March 25, Polymarket mentioned that it had up to date its guidelines to ban insider buying and selling. The platform made clear that it disavows buying and selling on stolen info and unlawful suggestions, in addition to by people who “maintain a place of authority or affect ample to have an effect on the end result of the underlying occasion.”
Decrypt has reached out to Multicoin and Polymarket for remark.
A P2P.me spokesperson referred Decrypt to the agency’s earlier posts on X, together with one that had gained greater than 620,000 views. That agency mentioned it didn’t assume it was “buying and selling on a finished deal,” however would nonetheless implement an organization coverage on prediction market buying and selling transferring ahead.
