When the match ended 0-0, both paid. The portfolio bought back about $4.7 million on the Spanish market and $8.5 million on the 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 almost $1 million, according to Polymarket trading records reviewed by CoinDesk. The bettor had placed almost $1.1 million on a victory in Spain when the market valued the favorite at around 92%. If Spain had won, the payout would have been only about $85,000, the meager reward typical of betting on almost certain outcomes.
The account had never won or lost more than $9,000 on a single event before, as shown in the history linked to the account.
Polymarket is a prediction market where people trade stocks tied to real-world outcomes, with prices that act as implied odds and settlement in USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, on a public blockchain.
Traders use crypto wallets and operate under pseudonyms rather than real names, a feature that lawmakers have criticized because the platform does not collect the basic information that regulated sportsbooks do.
Around $64 million was exchanged for the Spain match alone. Polymarket’s market on the tournament winner attracted about $2.4 billion, making the World Cup its biggest event since last year’s U.S. election and surpassing the roughly $1.4 billion wagered on this year’s Super Bowl.
