The turbulent US presidential election has flooded crypto betting site Polymarket with so many wagers that it’s upgrading the platform to handle soaring volumes of incoming funds.
Polymarket will start incorporating software from Miami-based MoonPay that will allow users to pay for their bets using bank transfers and credit cards, the companies said on Wednesday. Bettors currently buy stablecoin USDC on a crypto exchange and transfer it to Polymarket before making wagers.
Driving the frenzied betting is an election that’s already seen one candidate — Donald Trump — survive an assassination attempt, shortly before incumbent Joe Biden bowed out of the race after a revolt in the Democratic party. Betting volumes on Polymarket have reached a record $260 million so far in July, more than a third of this year’s total, according to data from Dune Analytics.
“We’ve really found an insane amount of product-market fit recently, as we’re currently in the US going through probably the most unpredictable and volatile election in living memory,” said Polymarket Vice President of Strategy David Rosenberg in an interview.
More than $366 million has been wagered so far this year on the winner of the November election, where Trump now likely faces Vice President Kamala Harris.
Polymarket isn’t available in the US. Its rapid growth comes as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission weighs a proposed ban on trading of derivatives that bet on political contests and sports games, a category known as event contracts.
Polymarket was fined by the CFTC in early 2022 after the regulator alleged it had offered illegal trading services. As part of a settlement, the company promised to wind down services in the US while continuing to operate abroad. J. Christopher Giancarlo, a former CFTC chair during the previous Trump administration, joined Polymarket’s board months later.
A $1.4 Million Bet on Trump
The most popular contract on New York-based Polymarket currently indicates a 61% chance of Trump beating Harris. His odds increased somewhat after Biden’s disastrous debate performance in late June, then shot up following the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Volumes likewise trace the arc of the election campaign, surging after Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention and Biden’s historic decision to exit the race.
Source:- yahoo.finance
