Americans traded $571 million on Polymarket politic bets despite U.S. ban
U.S.-linked wallets traded $571 million in political contracts over the past year, more than any other country, even though the platform legally cannot serve them. The money leans toward the foreign-conflict markets U.S. venues do not list.
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Summary
- Despite being barred from Polymarket, U.S.-linked wallets traded about $571 million in political markets over the past year, more than any other country, according to on-chain analysis firm Allium.
- Allium found that Americans disproportionately bet on geopolitics rather than elections, with U.S. wallets heavily trading markets on foreign wars and novelty events that regulated U.S. venues generally do not offer.
- The data shows U.S. traders are no better at picking winners than others, but their persistent offshore activity underscores a policy dilemma for regulators over whether to bring such markets onshore or leave them outside U.S. oversight.
