Lisa Mantil, a partner at Goldman Sachs with a 27-year tenure, has joined the prediction market platform Polymarket. She previously led the ETF Accelerator at Goldman Sachs, where she focused on developing products for institutional clients. Her new role involves expanding Polymarket's institutional business by attracting banks, fund managers, and corporations.
Polymarket aims to enable institutional investors to hedge and price events such as elections, interest rates, and geopolitical developments. The company is reportedly nearing the ability to offer block trades on its US exchange to accommodate large-scale private deals. This move is intended to help the platform compete with rival Kalshi, which accounted for 83% of weekly volume in mid-September.
The transition follows regulatory challenges for Polymarket in the United States. On September 24, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the platform, alleging that it operates an illegal gambling business within the state. Some institutional investors are currently delaying participation until federal and state regulators clarify the legal status of prediction market contracts.
