Shayne Coplan, the founder of Polymarket, has stirred a major discussion across the crypto industry after dropping a hint about a native token for the prediction platform. His post on X on October 9 hinted that a POLY token could soon be on the way. 

The buzz comes after a year of rapid growth for Polymarket, which has evolved from a niche blockchain prediction platform to a worldwide community of traders betting over real-world events. With new funding, institutional backing, and record user activity, the timing of the tease suggests a major shift in the project’s next phase.

Coplan’s POLY Token Tease

On Thursday morning, Polymarket founder took to X to tease a new native token namely POLY. Coplan suggested that the POLY token could potentially become one of the top crypto assets by market value joining the likes of BTC, ETH, BNB and SOL. 

$BTC$ETH$BNB$SOL$POLY 🤔 https://t.co/HmMobU6nBh

— Shayne Coplan 🦅 (@shayne_coplan) October 8, 2025

Coplan’s statement has instantly sparked excitement among traders and airdrop hunters who view Polymarket’s success as a strong foundation for a token launch. For instance, blockchain enthusiast Azyra suggests that “the biggest launch of the year will be $POLY.” 

However, with Coplan not giving further details regarding the POLY token, the tease remains just a speculation. Moreover, this is not the first time Polymarket has hinted a native token launch. In late 2023, the prediction platform teased a possible airdrop to reward its most active users.  The plan never materialized then, but it set expectations for a future incentive model. 

Previous reports have also shown that Polymarket once considered issuing its own stablecoin or partnering with Circle on a revenue-sharing model. Both plans pointed to the same long-term goal of reducing reliance on trading fees and building a more sustainable network. 

Institutional Backing Boosts Polymarket’s Rise

Launched in 2020, Polymarket began as a niche blockchain prediction platform which now tops the sector. Its rise to glory has been majorly fueled by a series of strategic investments. The company raised $55 million in 2024 at a $350 million valuation in a round led by Blockchain Capital. A year later, Founders Fund backed a larger $150 million round that valued the firm at $1.2 billion.

This momentum further peaked this week when the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested $2 billion in Polymarket. 

“We’re proud to announce that $ICE, the owner of @NYSE and the largest exchange company in the world, is making a strategic investment of $2 billion into Polymarket, valuing us at $9 billion post-money. Our partnership with ICE marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream,” Coplan said in a statement on X. 

The ICE partnership also strengthens Polymarket’s prospects for a domestic relaunch in the United States. Since 2021, the platform has been barred from operating in the United States following regulatory problems with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). But, the new partnership and compliance progress makes a U.S relaunch very likely. 

Could Polymarket Drop the Biggest Crypto Airdrop?

Coplan’s POLY token tease has left many market watchers in anticipation for a massive airdrop. Polymarket has a valuation of approximately $9 billion and boasts of more than 1.35 million users. If the company chooses to reward users based on their activity, the event could rival or even surpass the size of the Pi Network and Uniswap airdrops.

Data shared by Didi, an on-chain researcher, shows that only a small number of wallets hold large profits. Just 0.51% of users have made over $1,000 in net gains, and fewer than 2% have traded over $50,000. These numbers suggest that most users could qualify for some level of reward if the airdrop happens.

Day 325: Polymarket just hinted at their $POLY token today.

In my opinion, Polymarket is easily the coolest crypto app ever built.

They currently have over 1.35M traders, and I found some pretty interesting stats:

> $1k+ PNL makes you a TOP 0.51% wallet
> $50k+ volume makes… pic.twitter.com/IHl3grlCyK

— Didi (@DidiTrading) October 8, 2025

Additional data by Dune Analytics shows that trading activity on Polymarket has also surged recently. Single-day volumes have now risen to $84 million and weekly activity exceeds $500 million. This has been contributed largely by the NFL season and elections across the world. These events have seen significant participation from users.  

While Coplan did not confirm any official launch of the POLY token, his comments and recent investments in Polymarket by big financial institutions suggest the launch could come in the near future. Such a launch would set new records and cement Polymarket’s position in the decentralized prediction markets.