going full port on Hamnet

Polymarket at the Golden Globes, Eric Adams and more

Author

Boys Club
January 14, 2026

Hi friends,

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Editors: Miranda 

Polymarket at the Golden Globes. By now, you’ve probably seen this.

Most of the markets called the correct award outcomes, which is a feat, though the reception felt mixed. I loved it, and kept imagining Kylie getting bored and ripping some mid-ceremony bets. However, TBD on whether it was a fruitful endeavor for Polymarket. Market volume felt low relative to broadcast viewership (last year was 9.3 million), with markets averaging roughly $150K in trading volume. It seems that conversion from TV viewership to betting transactions was low, though it probably was a brand marketing play anyway. I expect next year will feel quite different.

Vertical Integration. “There’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling,” says Jim Barksdale, the former Netscape CEO. Crypto has been ruthlessly unbundling finance for years (complimentary), and many folks are making a play to be the king bundler as the industry matures. Stablecoin adoption is the main catalyst for this, so much so that JPMorgan is talking about this dangerous “parallel banking system” on earnings calls. We know Stripe is making a play, but as of this week so is Polygon, as they’ve announced more acquisitions to further their vertically integrated, easy-to-plug-into enterprise offering. Decentralized Stripe? Call it a…heated rivalry.

NYC Token. Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams launched NYC Coin, and immediately removed all the liquidity, executing a textbook rug pull. I’m not going to write any more about this as it’s an absolute clown show, but it’s worth knowing it happened.

Quick Hits.