Prediction Platform Polymarket Now Valued at $1B
Polymarket is a platform for betting on real-world events — and if you’re active on social media, chances are you’ve seen screenshots of it floating around. The platform went viral in 2024 when users flocked to place bets on who would become the next US president.
Polymarket’s unique twist is simple: you can put money on your predictions. Ahead of the last papal election, people bet on who would be chosen as the next head of the Vatican. When Israel struck Iran’s military infrastructure, users wagered on how long the conflict would last.
On Polymarket, people bet on anything and everything — no matter how odd it sounds. This viral edge has made it a cultural phenomenon, and in the US, political bets are even used as a barometer of public sentiment.
Founded just a few years ago, Polymarket has now reached unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. But there’s a twist: regulatory hurdles mean it’s technically banned from operating in the US, forcing it to run in a legal gray zone. Notably, billionaire Peter Thiel is among its backers.
The Story Behind Polymarket
At its core, Polymarket is a platform that lets people «vote with money» on how they think the future will unfold. Unlike a traditional bookmaker, it doesn’t set odds or payouts — it aggregates people’s collective expectations across any topic you can imagine.
For instance, a new Formula 1 movie is hitting theaters — someone might open a market asking: Will it gross $1 billion? And those questions can be very different: Will a French citizen win the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2026? Will Real Madrid win the Champions League in 2027? There are no limits.
Polymarket launched in 2020, but it really broke into the mainstream in 2022 when the Titan submarine went missing — people bet on whether the tiny research vessel exploring the Titanic wreck would be found by a certain date.
But it was US politics that turned Polymarket into a juggernaut. In 2024, bets on the presidential election dominated the platform — now, the focus has shifted to the primaries. Users actively wager on which candidates will come out on top.
Polymarket’s rise as a political sentiment tracker is remarkable, given that its operations are technically banned in the US. Everything runs on crypto, keeping it just outside traditional regulatory reach.
Politics remains the biggest driver of Polymarket’s growth, but the creativity of its users is just as important. Here are some examples of predictions:
This creativity allowed Polymarket to quickly gain popularity on social media, where users post the funniest ideas for voting.
The Financial Side
Polymarket itself doesn’t create the bets — users do. The platform takes a 2% fee on all activity. And there’s plenty of activity: during hot political cycles, the volume of bets has hit $4 billion, dropping to just under $3 billion during quieter periods.
The company counts more than 100,000 active users, though it keeps most of its financial details under wraps.
To date, Polymarket has completed four public funding rounds:
- Seed: $4 million (2020)
- Series A: $25 million (2024)
- Series B: $45 million (2024)
- Series C: $200 million (2025)
The last two rounds were led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with other investors including General Catalyst, Dragonfly, and more.
For all its momentum, Polymarket’s biggest challenge remains regulation. The US and several other countries have banned or periodically blocked its operations, keeping it stuck in a legal gray zone that limits how much it can grow and how many users it can reach.
Prediction Platform Polymarket Now Valued at $1B
Polymarket is a platform for betting on real-world events — and if you’re active on social media, chances are you’ve seen screenshots of it floating around. The platform went viral in 2024 when users flocked to place bets on who would become the next US president.
Polymarket’s unique twist is simple: you can put money on your predictions. Ahead of the last papal election, people bet on who would be chosen as the next head of the Vatican. When Israel struck Iran’s military infrastructure, users wagered on how long the conflict would last.
On Polymarket, people bet on anything and everything — no matter how odd it sounds. This viral edge has made it a cultural phenomenon, and in the US, political bets are even used as a barometer of public sentiment.
Founded just a few years ago, Polymarket has now reached unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation. But there’s a twist: regulatory hurdles mean it’s technically banned from operating in the US, forcing it to run in a legal gray zone. Notably, billionaire Peter Thiel is among its backers.
The Story Behind Polymarket
At its core, Polymarket is a platform that lets people «vote with money» on how they think the future will unfold. Unlike a traditional bookmaker, it doesn’t set odds or payouts — it aggregates people’s collective expectations across any topic you can imagine.
For instance, a new Formula 1 movie is hitting theaters — someone might open a market asking: Will it gross $1 billion? And those questions can be very different: Will a French citizen win the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2026? Will Real Madrid win the Champions League in 2027? There are no limits.
Polymarket launched in 2020, but it really broke into the mainstream in 2022 when the Titan submarine went missing — people bet on whether the tiny research vessel exploring the Titanic wreck would be found by a certain date.
But it was US politics that turned Polymarket into a juggernaut. In 2024, bets on the presidential election dominated the platform — now, the focus has shifted to the primaries. Users actively wager on which candidates will come out on top.
Polymarket’s rise as a political sentiment tracker is remarkable, given that its operations are technically banned in the US. Everything runs on crypto, keeping it just outside traditional regulatory reach.
Politics remains the biggest driver of Polymarket’s growth, but the creativity of its users is just as important. Here are some examples of predictions:
This creativity allowed Polymarket to quickly gain popularity on social media, where users post the funniest ideas for voting.
The Financial Side
Polymarket itself doesn’t create the bets — users do. The platform takes a 2% fee on all activity. And there’s plenty of activity: during hot political cycles, the volume of bets has hit $4 billion, dropping to just under $3 billion during quieter periods.
The company counts more than 100,000 active users, though it keeps most of its financial details under wraps.
To date, Polymarket has completed four public funding rounds:
- Seed: $4 million (2020)
- Series A: $25 million (2024)
- Series B: $45 million (2024)
- Series C: $200 million (2025)
The last two rounds were led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with other investors including General Catalyst, Dragonfly, and more.
For all its momentum, Polymarket’s biggest challenge remains regulation. The US and several other countries have banned or periodically blocked its operations, keeping it stuck in a legal gray zone that limits how much it can grow and how many users it can reach.
