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Fortune

Exclusive: Election betting site Polymarket is rife with fake ‘wash’ trading, researchers say

Fortune
Summary
Nutrition label

79% Informative

Polymarket has skyrocketed into mainstream consciousness during the 2024 U.S. elections.

The prediction market has reported $2.7 billion in bets over whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be elected president in early November .

But analysts at two crypto research firms have found evidence of rampant wash trading on Polymarket .

Polymarket is the largest platform by far, thanks in part to its crypto-native design and offshore operations.

Polymarket’s decision to operate on blockchain rails means researchers can analyze activity.

Polymarket is reporting that share of Hillary Clinton for president as $ 1 of volume.

The discrepancy underscores the untested nature of a platform on which many rely for signals about the presidential election.

VR Score

78

Informative language

76

Neutral language

38

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

70

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

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