When 'Skin in the Game' Gets Literal: P2P.me Caught Betting on Its Own Fundraise

P2P.me, the stablecoin startup backed by Coinbase Ventures and Multicoin Capital, just learned that wagering on yourself might not be the flex you think it is. The firm—apparently deciding that "eating your own cooking" wasn't degenny enough—got caught placing bets on Polymarket about whether its own fundraising would succeed. Nothing says "we believe in our mission" quite like hedging your Series A with prediction markets.

On Saturday, the India-based firm apologized for using Polymarket to bet on its own latest fundraising round—a move it described on X as an "inappropriate attempt at conveying conviction" to the public. The company walked away with less than $15,000 in profits, but acknowledged that even a small payday can carry outsized consequences. For context, that's roughly the cost of three Lambos in crypto Twitter years, or one very nice dinner in San Francisco.

"It created confusion and hurt trust," P2P.me admitted. "We should have let the work, the product, and the mission speak for themselves. That was our mistake." Ah yes, the classic founder pivot: when in doubt, blame the messaging. The product definitely wasn't speaking loudly enough over the sound of Polymarket transactions.

The bets centered on MetaDAO, a Solana-based fundraising and governance platform. Some wagers would pay out if $140 million in funding was committed through MetaDAO, while others hinged on a $6 million milestone. Nothing says "organic community excitement" like placing money on your own outcome while pretending it's just regular degen behavior. Pseudonymous MetaDAO co-founder Prohp3t said the platform would've told P2P.me to steer clear of Polymarket had it known. They didn't support the behavior, calling it "a guerrilla marketing stunt gone too far." MetaDAO is now facilitating refunds for investors who want out before the public fundraise concludes Tuesday. A spokesperson told Decrypt that $20,000 out of $6.7 million committed had been requested for refunds. That's roughly 0.3% of committed funds requesting a refund after discovering the founders were essentially betting on themselves at the poker table. Very subtle, very cool, definitely not a red flag.

The move also blindsided some major backers. Two sources familiar with the matter told Decrypt that certain investors were unaware P2P.me was betting on its own raise. Imagine finding out your founders have more faith in a Polymarket payout than in actually building a compelling pitch deck. That's the