What is Polymarket? A new market for betting on global events with crypto assets is growing at lightning speed

Rapidly Growing Polymarket: 25x Trading Volume Compared to June

The latest data for October 2025 is out. Polymarket’s monthly trading volume is $2.76 billion, with 445,000 active traders. Compared to June, it’s insane—trading volume is up about 25x from $110 million, and user numbers have increased 15x from 30,000. These numbers alone make it clear just how hot decentralized prediction markets are right now.

Until now, sports bets and political election predictions were dominated by traditional financial institutions and regulated platforms. But with Polymarket running on the Polygon chain, the game has changed. Thanks to crypto assets and smart contracts, anyone from anywhere can now participate in prediction markets.

How Does Polymarket Work? A Quick Overview

Basic Mechanism

You buy “shares” in the probability of a certain event (e.g., the 2024 US presidential election) happening. If you think Trump will win, you buy “Yes shares” at the current market price. If your prediction is correct, those shares are worth $1, and your profit is the difference between the purchase price and $1. If you’re wrong, the shares become worthless. Simple.

At the time of writing, Polymarket’s largest market is “2024 US Presidential Election Winner,” with over $2.6 billion in bets. Market participants are pricing Trump’s chance of winning at 66% and Harris at 34%. These numbers change in real time—when new news or poll results come out, share prices move up or down.

Technology

It’s all powered by blockchain. Every transaction is executed automatically via smart contracts—tamper-proof and transparent. Since it uses the Polygon network (Ethereum Layer-2), gas fees are low. Users just connect a non-custodial wallet like MetaMask, no KYC required. You control your own funds—the platform never touches them.

Who Profits? Polymarket’s Revenue Model

Polymarket makes money from trading fees. Every time users buy or sell shares, a small fee flows to liquidity providers. This mechanism keeps the market liquid, ensuring smooth trading.

Fee Details

• Buying and selling shares: No fee (covered by liquidity providers)
• USDC deposits/withdrawals: Network fee + relayer fee (whichever is higher: network fee + $3, or 0.3% of deposit amount)

Polymarket doesn’t take a cut from these network fees. Full transparency.

Use Cases: Why Is It So Popular?

1. Turning Knowledge into Profit

If you have prediction skills, you can make money—especially in areas where you have expertise. Politics, sports, economic indicators—you choose what to bet on. If you buy a lot of shares at a low price, your returns are big if you’re right.

2. Wisdom of the Crowd Works

The more participants, the closer market prices get to reality. Prediction markets are often more accurate than traditional polls. Since there’s a financial incentive, people do their research and bet seriously.

3. Light Regulation

No KYC. Privacy-focused. Anyone can join from anywhere in the world (except the US).

The Downsides: Risks and Regulatory Issues

1. US Regulatory Risk

Polymarket was fined $1.4 million by the CFTC (US Commodity Futures Trading Commission) for offering event contracts without proper registration. US users are now banned. Depending on future regulations, users in other regions could also be affected.

2. Market Volatility

As a prediction market, volatility can be wild. When new information comes out, share prices can spike or crash. Small investors can get whipsawed by whales. Only invest what you can afford to lose.

3. Misinformation Risk

Rumors or false information on social media can impact market outcomes. Technical issues like smart contract vulnerabilities or network congestion are also risks you can’t ignore.

Polymarket vs. Competitors: Who’s Stronger?

vs. PredictIt

• PredictIt: Regulated by US authorities. KYC required. For US users. High fees. Limited markets.
• Polymarket: Decentralized. No KYC. Global. Low fees. Wide range of markets.

vs. Augur

• Augur: Requires REP token. Users can create custom markets. Overall, higher cost.
• Polymarket: No token required. Simple. User-friendly.

vs. Gnosis

• Gnosis: Multifunctional—decentralized trading, wallets, infrastructure. Complex. Focused on GNO token.
• Polymarket: Simple, easy access, prediction market-focused.

What’s Next?

Polymarket is planning to improve user experience—advanced analytics tools, support for multiple cryptocurrencies, UI upgrades, and decentralized governance are all under consideration.

There are also rumors of a potential token launch. If it happens, there could be a $5 billion raise and airdrop—but nothing is confirmed yet.

Conclusion: Polymarket is definitely making its mark as a new option in prediction markets. With data transparency and low barriers to entry, it has strong global potential. But always be aware of regulatory risk, volatility, and misinformation. Invest responsibly.