Polymarket | Crypto

South Korean police reportedly launched the country’s first illegal gambling probe into local Polymarket users amid election-betting scrutiny. South Korean police have reportedly launched the country’s first illegal gambling probe into local Polymarket users, widening regulatory scrutiny of the decentralized prediction market. The investigation is led by Gangwon Provincial Police and was requested by the National Police Agency, according to ChosunBiz.  Users may face fines of up to 10 million won ($6,500) under Article 246 of the Criminal Act covering gambling and habitual gambling. Under current law, Sports Toto is the state-authorized sports betting platform, while unauthorized online betting can be prosecuted under South Korean gambling laws. Read more

A Polymarket contract on whether Strategy sold Bitcoin by May 31 resolved to no after traders disputed how the sale should count. A disputed Polymarket contract on whether Strategy sold Bitcoin by May 31 resolved to “No” after two dispute rounds, despite Strategy later disclosing that it sold 32 BTC during the market’s covered window. UMA Optimistic Oracle (UMA) token holders voted to settle the market in “no” following a second resolution cycle that closed at 12:34 am UTC on Thursday, blockchain data shows. An overwhelming 98.6% of the 607 participants voted for the market to resolve in “no,” while only 1.4% voted “yes,” data from Betmoar shows. Read more

A nearly $150 million prediction market has devolved into chaos after the platform Polymarket moved to deny payouts to traders who accurately predicted that corporate treasury firm Strategy would sell a portion of its Bitcoin holdings. The dispute centers on a fundamental disconnect between when an event occurs and when it is publicly disclosed, exposing […] The post Why a $150M Polymarket bet could pay the side that appeared to lose appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Polymarket executive Josh Stevens said identity checks apply only to early beta access and are not being added to Polymarket’s existing platform. Polymarket’s vice president of engineering, Josh Stevens, clarified that the prediction market platform is not adding mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to its existing service, after a report said the company had considered user verification requirements. Stevens said in an X response that Polymarket is launching a new beta product for a select group of users and that KYC is required only to access the beta during its early test period. “No KYC is being added to any part of existing polymarket.com with this launch,” Stevens wrote. He said that once the product is out of beta, no KYC will be required to use it.  He later addressed questions about whether KYC could be added later, saying “no” and clarifying that he was “just highlighting” that identity checks are tied to early access for a new beta product rather than a broader move away from pseudonymous trad...

The predictions market operator reportedly explored mandatory user verification requirements, breaking from its policies of allowing traders to access its services using pseudonyms. Prediction markets platform Polymarket is reportedly considering measures to verify users in response to pressure from global authorities over sanctions violations and other areas of legal risk to the company. According to a Wednesday report by The Information, Polymarket has considered mandatory user verification requirements more in line with Know Your Customer (KYC) standards. The move comes as multiple countries have blocked or restricted access to the predictions market platform over concerns about illegal gambling. Source: Polymarket Read more

Spain is the latest country to clamp down on the rising use of prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi.

Spain joined a growing list of national authorities restricting or banning prediction market platforms amid concerns over unlicensed gambling activities. Spain’s gambling regulator blocked local users from Polymarket and Kalshi “as a precautionary measure” as authorities there address allegations the prediction markets platforms were in violation of gambling laws.  On Tuesday, Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) said the country’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption, and Agenda 2030 had opened legal proceedings against the two companies, as they appeared to be operating without necessary licensing. The DGOJ issued an order blocking Spanish users from Kalshi and Polymarket until the proceedings were resolved, expected in three to four months. “The DGOJ wishes to remind the public that, in Spain — in line with other European jurisdictions — prediction markets are deemed to constitute games of chance when bets are placed on uncertain future outcomes,” according to a Tuesday notic...

Hyperliquid launches offchain event prediction markets with $12,800 opening OI. Analysts watch HYPE for breakout as the DEX targets Polymarket with CPI and Fed rate contracts. The post Hyperliquid Just Launched Prediction Markets to Take On Polymarket: Is HYPE About to Hit $100? appeared first on Cryptonews.

Indonesia blocked Polymarket after users bet on President Prabowo Subianto leaving office early, citing gambling concerns and expanding global scrutiny of prediction markets. Indonesia blocked access to Polymarket after the prediction market platform hosted wagers on whether President Prabowo Subianto would leave office before the end of his term. Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) announced the block on Friday, describing Polymarket as an “online gambling site disguised as a prediction market.” "The government will not allow any form of online gambling in Indonesia,” ministry official Alexander Sabar said, adding: “Activities like Polymarket involve betting and speculation on uncertain outcomes, thus violating Indonesian law.” Read more

Prediction market Polymarket eyes Japan entry, Harvard sells off its Ethereum holdings, and other news: Hodler’s Digest

Representative James Comer asked CEOs of two major prediction market companies for information on their responses to insider trading after “suspiciously timed trades” related to US military actions against Iran. Update (May 22 at 7:40 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include statements from Polymarket and Kalshi. The chair of the US House of Representatives’ Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent letters to the CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket, questioning the companies’ response to incidents of insider trading on the platform. In a Friday X post, Committee Chair James Comer confirmed reports that he had sent letters to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, asking them for internal records on how the companies were handling insider trading. The Kentucky lawmaker said there were concerns in Congress over elected officials using “basic insider knowledge” to profit off the government’s actions. Read more

Polymarket faced what many users interpreted as a possible hack on May 22 after public alerts described a rapid POL drain on the prediction market platform. Polymarket-linked accounts later said the incident was not a smart-contract exploit and did not affect user funds or market resolution. The first wave of concern came from on-chain investigator […] The post Polymarket suffers live POL drain as team rules out feared contract exploit appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Polymarket is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid falling trading volumes and rising regulatory scrutiny, targeting approval by 2030. Polymarket, a global prediction market platform, is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid growing regulatory scrutiny of the sector worldwide. The company has appointed Mike Eidlin, head of Japan at crypto firm Jupiter, to lead its local efforts and is preparing to lobby for authorization of prediction markets in the country, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Polymarket is targeting government approval in Japan by 2030, viewing the market as a major untapped opportunity. Read more

Polymarket said user funds and market resolution were safe after a suspected private key compromise tied to top-up operations. Polymarket confirmed a security exploit affected part of its infrastructure, pointing to a possible private key compromise involving a wallet used for top-up operations, while saying user funds and market resolution were safe. In a Friday X post, Polymarket developers said contracts and core infrastructure were unaffected. Polymarket product lead Akanshu Jain and multiple other Polymarket employees also said user funds and market resolution are safe. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT first flagged the exploit as a compromise to the Polymarket-linked UMA Conditional Tokens Framework (CTF) Adapter contract on Polygon, with the exploiter draining at least $520,000. Read more

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has highlighted a suspected security breach involving Polymarket, the world’s largest decentralized prediction market platform.

Polymarket has gone dark in India and as per local media reports, Kalshi could be next.

New markets will let users trade on fundraising, valuation and other startup milestones using data from Nasdaq Private Market, extending forecasting into private capital. Polymarket has launched a new category of prediction markets tied to private companies, allowing users to trade on questions related to pre-IPO companies — a move that could bring greater price discovery to private markets, where valuation data is often limited and opaque. The new offering, announced Tuesday, was developed in partnership with Nasdaq Private Market, a platform that facilitates secondary trading in shares of privately held companies. Nasdaq Private Market will provide the underlying data and market infrastructure for the contracts. The markets are designed to reflect expectations around events such as fundraising rounds, valuation changes and other corporate milestones involving startups and late-stage private companies. The launch expands Polymarket’s product lineup beyond its core markets focused on politics, macroeconomic e...

Polymarket’s new private-company prediction markets let retail traders bet on startup milestones once reserved for Wall Street insiders.

Bubblemaps’ investigation found a cluster of nine accounts that generated $2.4 million with a near-perfect win rate on Polymarket contracts tied to major US military operations. Blockchain data platform Bubblemaps said it identified a cluster of Polymarket wallets that collectively earned $2.4 million with a 98% win rate on contracts tied to US military operations. Nine wallets placed all their major bets just before major military developments, including the Feb. 28 attack on Iran, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, Bubblemaps wrote in a Monday X post. The accounts were all funded through centralized cryptocurrency exchanges in a tight timeframe and made some minor losing bets on Feb. 20, which likely served to “avoid attention,” according to Bubblemaps. Four of them each made around $400,000 in profit on their bets that the US would strike Iran on Feb. 28. Read more

Polymarket was banned in the Netherlands in February, but Kalshi, Hyperliquid and Interactive Brokers are still offering prediction markets to Dutch users. Dutch users can still access crypto prediction markets despite a previous ban on market leader Polymarket. Polymarket was banned by the Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) in February for operating without a gambling license. However, US-based Kalshi, crypto exchange Hyperliquid and investment giant Interactive Brokers are still offering prediction markets to Dutch users, according to an investigation by Dutch financial newspaper FD. The Ksa warned that Polymarket’s ban applies to similar platforms. “Websites similar to Polymarket also fall under our supervision and can therefore be sanctioned by us,” a spokesperson reportedly said. Read more