Polymarket Review

Polymarket is a decentralised prediction market platform built on the Polygon blockchain. It lets users trade binary Yes/No contracts on real-world events — elections, sports championships, crypto price milestones, policy outcomes and more. Each contract resolves to $1 for the winning side and $0 for the losing side, with share prices between 1¢ and 99¢ reflecting the market's implied probability in real time.

How Polymarket trading works

Trading on Polymarket is straightforward in concept but nuanced in practice. Each market poses a yes/no question. You buy shares of Yes or No at the current market price. If you believe the true probability is higher than the market price, you buy Yes. If you believe it's lower, you buy No. Prices update continuously as news breaks and traders adjust positions. The spread between Yes and No prices creates the order book — when Yes + No equals $1.00 exactly, there's no arbitrage. When it doesn't, arbitrageurs can profit by buying both sides.

Market types on Polymarket

Election markets: Trade implied probabilities on presidential, congressional and international elections. Prices translate directly to percentage odds. See our election markets guide.

Sports markets: Championship winners, season outcomes and event contracts for football, basketball, tennis, esports, combat sports and motorsport. These are long-horizon markets, not daily fixed-odds betting. See our sports markets guide.

Crypto markets: Bitcoin price thresholds, ETF approval outcomes, Ethereum upgrade milestones and Federal Reserve rate decisions. Macro catalysts translated into tradable contracts. See our crypto markets guide.

Pop culture markets: Awards shows, entertainment events and cultural outcome contracts with yes/no resolution.

USDC settlement explained

All Polymarket trades settle in USDC — a US-dollar stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USD and running on the Polygon blockchain. Here's why this matters: deposits and withdrawals are in USDC, not local currency. Gas fees on Polygon are fractions of a cent, making even small trades practical. When a market resolves in your favour, USDC is credited to your balance immediately. You can withdraw USDC to any compatible wallet at any time.

To fund your account, bridge USDC to Polygon via the Polygon Bridge, withdraw USDC from a crypto exchange to your Polygon wallet address, or use the integrated on-ramp to purchase USDC directly with a debit card where supported. Always confirm your USDC balance before opening positions, and check gas costs if transferring from Ethereum mainnet.

Resolution and the UMA oracle

Markets resolve via the UMA optimistic oracle. A proposed outcome is posted with a liveness period for disputes. If no one disputes within that window, the outcome is final. Disputed markets go to UMA token holders for resolution. Always read the market's resolution criteria before trading — ambiguous wording can lead to unexpected outcomes.

Getting started

New to Polymarket? Read our login guide, onboarding guide, and how Polymarket works. For trading approaches, see our strategies guide. For costs, see fees & payouts.

Independent guide — not the operator. 18+ only. Trading involves risk of total loss. Not investment advice.