Polymarket will add support for bank cards amid growing betting volumes
Date: 2024-07-25 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
New partnership with MoonPay
Forecasting platform Polymarket has announced a strategic agreement with payment service MoonPay. This partnership aims to expand the list of supported payments, allowing users to place bets on various events using bank transfers and credit cards. As Bloomberg reports, users will now be able to use not only USDC stablecoins, but also other cryptocurrencies.
Until now, to place a bet on Polymarket, users had to purchase Circle stablecoins (USDC) and transfer them to the platform's internal account. Due to the increase in betting volumes and the growth of the client base, the Polymarket team decided to expand the list of available payments. This innovation is aimed at simplifying the betting process and attracting new users.
Growth in trade volumes
Trading volume on the Polymarket platform reached a historical high, exceeding $111 million in June 2024. This figure increased by almost 77% compared to May. One of the main catalysts for growth was the upcoming US presidential elections. Republican candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt, and Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. These events caused increased volatility in PoliFi tokens and a surge in forecasts on the platform. In July, bet volumes reached another high, reaching $260 million.
Polymarket Vice President of Strategy, David Rosenberg, noted that the company's product has found significant alignment with market demands, especially in the context of the current unpredictable elections in the United States. He also emphasized that the deal with MoonPay will allow the platform to accept not only USDC, but also other crypto assets. Popular bets this year, in addition to the presidential election, included the debut of cryptocurrency ETFs based on Bitcoin and Ethereum, events in the field of science and business, the Paris Olympics and the 2025 Super Bowl.
US restrictions
Despite its successes, the Polymarket platform is still not available to users in the United States. In 2022, the company was fined by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for providing illegal trading services. The regulator banned betting on elections and sporting events using derivatives, which limited the availability of the platform in the American market.
In May 2024, Polymarket conducted its latest funding round, raising $70 million from investors including Vitalik Buterin and Founders Fund. After this, the platform's valuation grew to approximately $1 billion, although the exact figure was not specified.
Partnering with MoonPay and expanding the user experience demonstrates Polymarket's commitment to innovation and improving the user experience. The expansion of the list of supported payments and a significant increase in trading volumes confirm the relevance of the platform in the global market for forecasts and bets.
