Polymarket tops $1B in betting volume amid US election hype

The total volume of money wagered across the Polymarket platform has topped $1 billion, as users pile into speculation around the outcome of the US presidential election.
The total volume of money wagered across the Polymarket platform has topped $1 billion, as users pile into speculation around the outcome of the US presidential election.

Crypto betting platform Polymarket has surpassed $1 billion in trading volume, with more than one-third of the volume brought on by wagers in just the last thirty days. 

Polymarket witnessed $343 million in betting volume as of July 30, a significant step up from $111 million in June and $63 million in May, according to data from Dune Analytics.

Polymarket surged to top $1 billion in lifetime betting volume. Source: Dune Analytics

Fevered speculation over the United States presidential election has been the primary driver of the record volume.  

To date, over $429 million has been wagered on which presidential candidate will clinch an election victory on Nov. 4, with Donald Trump still commanding a strong lead at 60% odds.

Vice President Kamala Harris has closed the gap on Trump, moving from a 1% chance to 38% following Biden’s sudden move to drop out of the race.

$429 million has been wagered on who will win the upcoming election. Source: Polymarket

While Polymarket has been used primarily for speculating on the outcome of political events, the platform also features prediction markets for crypto, sports, business, and most recently, the 2024 Olympic games.

Related: Polymarket monthly volume hits $100M as presidential race heats up

On May 14, Polymarket closed a $70 million Series B funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founder Fund which also included contributions from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

The betting market recently partnered with payments platform MoonPay on July 24, enabling debit and credit card payments in a bid to make its onboarding process easier, particularly for users outside of crypto.

In a bid to capitalize further on the growing financial speculation of US politics, Polymarket brought on election analyst and statistician Nate Silver as an adviser on July 16.

Despite being used almost exclusively for US-based events, Polymarket is unavailable to American users.

Magazine: THORChain founder and his plan to ‘vampire attack’ all of DeFi