Crypto betting platform Polymarket has surpassed $1 billion in trading volume, with over one-third of the volume generated in the past 30 days alone.
As of July 30, Polymarket recorded $343 million in betting volume, a sharp increase from $111 million in June and $63 million in May, according to Dune Analytics.
The surge is primarily driven by speculation surrounding the United States presidential election.
Over $429M Wagered on Outcome of Presidential Election
To date, more than $429 million has been wagered on the outcome of the November 4 presidential election, with Donald Trump leading the bets at 60% odds.
Vice President Kamala Harris has seen her odds improve significantly from 1% to 38% following President Biden’s unexpected withdrawal from the race.
While political events have been the main focus for Polymarket users, the platform also offers prediction markets in areas such as cryptocurrency, sports, business, and the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games.
On May 14, Polymarket completed a $70 million Series B funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founder Fund, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also participating.
In an effort to streamline the onboarding process, especially for non-crypto users, Polymarket partnered with payments platform MoonPay on July 24, allowing for debit and credit card payments.
In a move to further leverage the growing interest in US political speculation, Polymarket enlisted election analyst and statistician Nate Silver as an adviser on July 16.
Despite its popularity in betting on US-based events, Polymarket remains inaccessible to American users due to regulatory restrictions.
It is worth noting that Polymarket recently concluded a successful $70 million Series B funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Founder Fund, with participation from notable figures including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
“Prediction markets are the purest technological manifestation of liberal democracy,” Yuga Cohler, an engineering lead at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, wrote in a recent post on X.
“They take free markets and free speech as inputs and output truth. In an age when centralized control of information is a systemic risk, prediction markets offer a way of cutting through misleading narratives and viewing the unvarnished truth.”
.@Polymarket‘s astronomical success is the most important story in crypto right now, but it’s so obvious that we are ignoring it, when we should be screaming it from the rooftops.
Prediction markets are the purest technological manifestation of liberal democracy. They take free… pic.twitter.com/XlubHYDicq
— yuga.eth (@yugacohler) June 30, 2024
Trump’s Bullish Remarks Ignite Bitcoin Rally
Bitcoin’s market dynamics have recently been invigorated by former President Donald Trump’s bullish remarks on the cryptocurrency, Shubh Varma, CEO and Co-founder of Hyblock Capital, said in a recent note.
During his speech at the Bitcoin conference, Trump proposed the dismissal of SEC Chair Gary Gensler and suggested establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, even drawing comparisons between Bitcoin’s market capitalization and that of gold.
“Such a pro-crypto stance from a major political figure was almost unimaginable just two years ago, signaling a significant shift in the narrative surrounding Bitcoin and its potential future,” Varma said.
He also noted that the growing institutional interest in Bitcoin further supports this optimistic outlook.
The State of Michigan Retirement System has allocated approximately 5% of its assets under management to Bitcoin ETFs, making it the second state pension fund to embrace this digital asset, following Wisconsin.
Additionally, Jersey City’s municipal pension plan, as announced by Mayor Steven Fulop, is set to invest in Bitcoin through exchange-traded funds.
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