When the match ended 0-0, both paid off. The wallet redeemed about $4.7 million in the Spanish market and $8.5 million in spread, according to its public trading history, for a one-day profit of about $9 million.
On the other hand, a trader using the name ‘betoor619’ lost nearly $1 million, Polymarket trading records reviewed by CoinDesk show. The bettor had bet almost $1.1 million on a Spanish victory when the market valued the favorite at approximately 92%. If Spain had won, the payout would have been only about $85,000, the typical meager reward for betting on almost certain outcomes.
The account had never before won or lost more than $9,000 in a single event, history linked to the account shows.
Polymarket is a prediction market where people trade stocks linked to real-world outcomes, with prices acting as implied probabilities and settlement in USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the dollar, on a public blockchain.
Traders use crypto wallets and trade under pseudonyms rather than real names, a feature that lawmakers have criticized because the platform does not collect the background information that regulated sportsbooks do.
Around 64 million dollars were negotiated in the Spain match alone. Polymarket’s market on the tournament’s overall winner has attracted around $2.4 billion, making the World Cup its biggest event since last year’s US election and surpassing the roughly $1.4 billion wagered on this year’s Super Bowl.
