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Stablecoins Are the ‘Quiet Winners’ of Polymarket’s Surge: Coinbase Research
Polymarket’s growth fuels USDC demand, with stablecoins driving high-velocity settlement activity.
Updated Jun 27, 2025, 6:11 p.m. Published Jun 27, 2025, 5:05 p.m.
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What to know:
- Polymarket is seeking a $1 billion valuation in a funding round led by Founders Fund.
- Stablecoins like USDC are playing a crucial role in its settlement infrastructure, according to a report from Coinbase.
- The betting platform has processed over $14 billion in trading volume.
As Polymarket seeks a $1 billion valuation in a Founders Fund-led round, the “quiet winners” may be the stablecoins underpinning its settlement infrastructure, Coinbase analysts wrote in a Friday research report.
All of the platform’s trades settle in Circle’s USDC on Polygon, creating measurable demand for the dollar-pegged token. And while lending protocols lock capital in pools, prediction markets like Polymarket cycle funds at a high velocity — settling, redeploying and transferring balances continuously, the analysts said.
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The platform has processed more than $14 billion in lifetime trading volume. In May alone, it cleared $1 billion, with daily active traders averaging between 20,000 and 30,000.
Meanwhile, in the immediate aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election in November 2024, monthly volume soared to $2.5 billion, sparking corresponding spikes in USDC transfers and bridge activity.
Such flows demonstrate how stablecoins now power real-time market infrastructure. “Momentum is likely to accelerate further with a new content partnership with X, positioning prediction markets as viral social content rather than purely financial tools,” the report said.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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