Polymarket Taps MoonPay for Crypto Payments Amid Election Rush

Polymarket,  a cryptocurrency betting platform, has chosen software from Miami-based MoonPay to allow users to create transactions via bank transfers and credit cards. This step is associated with the highly turbulent US presidential election that has stimulated the increased betting activity on Polymarket.

Election Fuels Betting Frenzy on Polymarket

Polymarket has had to enhance its infrastructure due to the high betting volumes that have been triggered by the ongoing US presidential election. This election, which was full of surprises like an assassination attempt on Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s dropping out of the race, has led to new record-high levels of betting.

Polymarket has witnessed a surge in trading, with a record $260 million in bets placed in July, more than one-third of the annual volume, as per Dune Analytics.

David Rosenberg, Polymarket’s Vice President of Strategy, attributed the rapid increase in the platform’s user base to the election’s volatility. So far, $366 million has been bet on the November election outcome, and Trump is now the favorite against Harris, particularly after Biden suspended his campaign and Trump’s successful rallies.

Polymarket Expands Payment Options with MoonPay

To address the high volume of wagers, Polymarket is integrating MoonPay’s software through which users can place their bets using traditional financial instruments such as bank transfers and credit cards. This development is intended to make the user experience more seamless by removing the need to buy and transfer stablecoin USDC from a crypto exchange.

Rosenberg underlined that the platform should be understandable by anyone, stressing that “you shouldn’t have to be a deep crypto native to get something out of this.” As for the cooperation with MoonPay, it is also expected to allow accepting various crypto assets for bets, thus expanding the audience of the platform.

Left: depositing to @Polymarket today
Right: depositing to @Polymarket as it should be

Let's work together on rolling out ERC-3770 and ERC-7683 today! pic.twitter.com/z1jxeI17rI

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 9, 2024

However, earlier this month, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin advocated for improvement of the usability within the Polymarket depositing method. Consequently, Buterin has been vocal on specific Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) (ERC-3770 and ERC-7683) to solve the current user experience issues stating that it can be done without necessarily having to rely on the technological developments.

CFTC Regulatory Challenges 

However, Polymarket is not without its restrictions since it remains highly regulated despite its widespread use. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed prohibiting the trading of derivatives based on political events, which it has classified as event contracts.

Polymarket was fined by the CFTC in the first quarter of 2022 for offering unregulated trading services which urged it to exit the US market. However, J. Christopher Giancarlo, a former CFTC chair, joined Polymarket’s board in the same year, suggesting that the company was still making strategic changes.

At the moment, participants in Polymarket make bets on yes-no propositions, and prices indicate the likelihood of certain events. For instance, the present market says there is a 61% possibility of Trump winning the election and Kamala with 39%, all with shares priced like that. Such positions can be liquidated prior to the formation of the market outcome, thus enabling the traders to lock in profit or cut losses depending on the changing probabilities.

Also Read: Leading Asset Manager CSOP Says Bitcoin To Hit $100K Soon

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