Lisa Mantil spent nearly 27 years at Goldman Sachs and became a partner, one of Wall Street’s most prized titles. On Tuesday, she left to join Polymarket.
Her new job is to bring Wall Street’s biggest players with her, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said. Reportedly, her specialty was learning what institutional clients needed and building products to deliver it.
A Goldman Partner Joins a Betting Market
Polymarket is only the second employer of Mantil’s career, CEO Shayne Coplan revealed, adding that the two were introduced by Goldman CEO David Solomon.
At Goldman, Mantil ran the ETF Accelerator. It helped clients launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs), investment funds that trade like stocks.
Now she will build products for banks, fund managers, and corporations that want to price and hedge elections, interest rates, and geopolitical events, the company’s release said.
“The opportunity to join Polymarket is a rare chance to help shape an exploding asset class at an inflection point in its development,” Mantil stated.
Polymarket Chases Wall Street Money as Kalshi Pulls Ahead
So far, ordinary people have driven the boom. Most of them bet on sports. However, big investors trade differently, with a preference for block trades, or large deals agreed in private so prices do not swing.
Rival Kalshi did the first one in April. Polymarket’s international site followed a month later. Brokers reportedly told CNBC that Polymarket is close to offering block trades on its US exchange.
“Brokers working with early institutional participants on prediction markets have told CNBC that the company has had discussions about completing block trades on its U.S. exchange, and is nearing the ability to do so.”
Neither Polymarket nor Shayne Coplan immediately responded to BeInCrypto’s request for comment.
Nevertheless, Polymarket needs the volume, seeing as Kalshi handled 83% of weekly volume in mid-September, BeInCrypto reported.
“Lisa’s experience and relationships across the institutional world are world class,” Coplan added.
New York Calls Polymarket Illegal Gambling
While Mantil calls prediction markets an exploding asset class, New York’s Attorney General Letitia Jamessees something else.
On September 24, she sued Polymarket US, accusing it of running an illegal gambling operation in the state.
Some institutions are staying away until states and federal regulators settle who controls sports contracts, CNBC noted.
Coplan is still making the pitch. He invited anyone who wants to trade in large size to contact the firm directly.