Polymarket, a prominent crypto betting platform, has reached $1 billion in trading volume, with $343 million transacted in the last 30 days alone. This marks a significant increase from $111 million in June and $63 million in May, according to Dune Analytics.
The key factor behind this increase is the high level of uncertainty associated with the approaching US presidential election. More than $429M has been staked on the outcome of the election on November 4, with Donald Trump at 60 percent.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s chance as the presidential election winner has also increased greatly from 1% to 40% after Biden pulled out of the race unexpectedly.
Despite the political events taking most of the space in Polymarket, it features prediction markets on crypto, sports, business, and the 2024 Olympic games. On May 14, Polymarket completed its $70 million Series B funding round led by Founder Fund, backed by Peter Thiel, and Ethereum co-founder, Buterin.
To make it easier for new users to sign up, especially those who are not very familiar with cryptocurrencies, Polymarket announced its integration with the payments provider MoonPay on July 24, which allows users to pay with debit or credit cards. Also, on July 16, the platform hired election analyst and statistician Nate Silver to leverage the increasing focus on US politics.
Nonetheless, Polymarket is still inaccessible to Americans even though it is designed for events taking place in the United States. This growth demonstrates the interest in the platform and the increasing tendency of financial risk-taking on political results.
