Polymarket has fired Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber, who started in January 2024
Polymarket has fired Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber, who started in January 2024, and is a close associate of 28-year-old CEO Shayne Coplan.
The New York Post cited sources saying the firing stemmed from an internal investigation launched earlier this year due to a series of negative events that raised investor concerns. These included a June report by The Wall Street Journal detailing a scheme where Modabber's team allegedly created fake webpages to promote videos of fabricated users making money through fake trades.
This report triggered an investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is still ongoing and has not yet determined any violations. Sources say both parties are finalizing a departure agreement while maintaining mutual respect. A company spokesperson declined to comment, and Modabber did not respond to inquiries.
The Wall Street Journal previously reviewed over 1,100 videos and found that about 70% of the bets shown were not real, involving approximately $1.9 million in simulated trades. Reports indicated that some promotions used personal PayPal accounts to pay creators without disclosure.
Market Mechanism: Fake promotional videos attract users and boost trading volume, but exposure leads to regulatory investigations and investor concerns, increasing compliance costs and undermining brand trust; platforms relying on aggressive marketing to acquire new users face higher scrutiny, while competitors emphasizing transparency and compliance may benefit from user migration.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Matthew Modabber joined Polymarket in January 2024 and was one of the company's early employees, closely associated with founder and CEO Shayne Coplan. A June 2026 report by The Wall Street Journal revealed that his team used imitation websites (such as poiymarket.com) to have creators shoot fake trading and profit videos, which subsequently triggered a CFTC investigation and bipartisan Senate attention.
On the capital front, Polymarket experienced rapid user and valuation expansion after the 2024 election, with marketing investments directed towards social media user acquisition, including payments to creators through personal accounts. The firing of Modabber after the internal investigation reflects investor demands for strengthened governance in response to potential IPO preparations and ongoing regulatory pressures, shifting resources from aggressive promotion to compliance review.
This is similar to other prediction markets or crypto platforms facing regulatory scrutiny after using simulated or undisclosed promotions during growth periods, and is akin to the constraints traditional bookmakers face regarding advertising compliance. Current prediction markets are transitioning from viral growth to regulated operations, and Polymarket, as a leading platform, influences industry customer acquisition standards through its marketing adjustments.
Essentially, this reflects regulatory changes and industry chain restructuring: when marketing employs imitation interfaces and undisclosed paid content, regulators view simulated trading as potentially misleading. The mechanism is that high-growth platforms acquire users through low-cost viral videos, but the CFTC's jurisdiction over prediction markets includes scrutiny of false profit displays, forcing platforms to redirect some customer acquisition budgets towards compliance and auditing to reduce enforcement risks and maintain investor confidence.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
Fake profit videos can attract new users but also investigations.
Marketing by associates ultimately has to pass investor scrutiny.
The faster the growth, the more compliance loopholes are magnified.