Author: David Christopher, Bankless

Translated by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide introduction: Prediction market platform Polymarket confirmed it has laid off some full-time employees and terminated a number of contractor agreements, mainly in marketing, customer experience, and engineering. Amid pressure from investors to streamline operations, the company is accelerating the professionalization of its management team.

The move comes as competition in prediction markets heats up. DefiLlama data shows that rival Kalshi recorded $17.7 billion in trading volume over the past 30 days, roughly three times Polymarket’s volume over the same period. Polymarket’s recent series of personnel changes has also been seen as laying the groundwork for a potential listing as early as 2027.

The prediction market platform says it is reorganizing under new management, while rival Kalshi has posted roughly three times its trading volume over the past 30 days.

Polymarket confirmed that it has laid off some employees and ended outsourcing agreements. The company told Reuters that an email circulating online, which said the outsourcing agreements would end on November 4 “as part of a company-wide layoff,” was authentic.

Key developments

· Layoff details: Polymarket declined to disclose the number of layoffs but denied reports that it had cut 30% of its workforce. According to people familiar with the matter, more than half of those affected were contractors, primarily in the marketing, customer experience, and engineering departments.

· Widening gap: According to DefiLlama data, Kalshi processed about $17.7 billion in trading volume over the past 30 days, compared with about $5.9 billion for Polymarket. In October, the figures were $16.6 billion and $6 billion, respectively.

CoinDesk, citing Bloomberg, reported that investors have been pressuring founder Shayne Coplan to run the business in a leaner, more efficient way.

· New management team: After dismissing Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber in October, Polymarket appointed former Amazon finance executive Warren Jenson as its first CFO in September and hired former Uber executive Travis VanderZanden as chief growth officer.

Two sources told FOS that this series of steps to “professionalize” the company comes as it considers going public as early as 2027, although Polymarket has not confirmed any plans to list.