US Traders Bypass Polymarket Geoblocks to Place Political Bets
New Allium data shows American users are circumventing Polymarket's geographic restrictions to access political prediction markets.
Polymarket blocks US users. Apparently, US users don't care. New on-chain data from analytics firm Allium reveals that American traders are actively bypassing the platform's geoblocks to place wagers on political prediction markets — and they're doing it at scale.
Polymarket is a decentralized prediction market platform that technically prohibits US participants due to regulatory concerns. But decentralized means on-chain, and on-chain data doesn't lie. Allium's findings suggest the United States isn't just participating — it's dominating activity on the platform despite the official restriction.
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This matters for a few reasons. First, it signals just how hungry US retail traders are for political event contracts that domestic platforms won't touch. Traditional US-regulated exchanges steer clear of election betting, leaving a massive gap that Polymarket fills — even if users have to work around a geoblock to get there. Second, it raises real regulatory heat. If US users make up a outsized chunk of volume, regulators at the CFTC or elsewhere have fresh ammunition to scrutinize the platform more aggressively.
For the individual trader, the takeaway is simple: the demand is real, the workarounds are widespread, and the regulatory gray zone is getting grayer. Betting on politics via Polymarket isn't sanctioned for Americans, but the data makes clear that compliance and participation are two very different things right now. How long that window stays open is anyone's guess.
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