Polymarket Hires Architect of Coinbase's Failed Token Experiment

Jacob Horne, who co-founded Zora — the platform that powered Coinbase's abandoned creator-coin project — has been brought in by Polymarket to overhaul its onchain trading product, chief executive Shayne Coplan revealed on Thursday.

Horne departed Zora eight days ago following over six years at its helm. His new role puts him in competition with Kalshi, the exchange that currently runs Coinbase's prediction-market operations in the US.

Coplan's Brief for Horne

Polymarket's operations are split between two venues:

• Users outside the US trade on a market that settles on Polygon's blockchain, a segment referred to as Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
• US-based traders access a separate exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Coplan stated that Horne would collaborate with him directly on product development, specifically focusing on the cryptocurrency side of the divide.

“He will be working closely with me on product, in particular making Polymarket DeFi great again,” the Polymarket executive shared.

Coplan also noted that the onchain offering had deteriorated as the firm expanded, and that long-standing users felt it had been neglected. He pledged to hold a town hall to outline a remedy.

Horne's Previous Role at a Discontinued Coinbase Product

Zora allowed users to convert social-media posts into tokens that could be traded on Base, the blockchain network developed by Coinbase. Coinbase promoted the concept for more than a year until Pollak acknowledged the experiment had not succeeded.

CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the tokens had not functioned as intended. Zora was among a number of Base initiatives discontinued this year, and Coinbase reverted to the Coinbase Wallet name this month.

Coinbase did not drop prediction markets. Instead, it directed its US offering via Kalshi. In the week ending September 13, Kalshi processed $13.1 billion of the combined $15.8 billion in trading volume on both platforms, giving Polymarket a 17% share.

Polymarket won the first battle but Kalshi won the war.

From 10% of the market share to over 80% in less than two years. pic.twitter.com/DrEKdsj7ww

— Rand Group (@randgroup) September 15, 2026

Three Senior Appointments in Eight Days

Horne marks the third such hire. On September 10, Warren Jenson joined as Polymarket's inaugural CFO.

Thrilled to announce that Warren Jenson is joining Polymarket as our first CFO.

Warren was:
– CFO of @amazon, where he worked directly with Bezos and leadership to pioneer the financial framework for modern marketplaces.
– CFO of @EA
– CFO of @Delta
– President and CFO of…

— Shayne Coplan 🦅 (@shayne_coplan) September 10, 2026

Collin McKinney Hill, previously a general manager at DoorDash, became vice president of operations on September 15.