Polymarket is the world’s largest prediction market by trading volume, operating on the Polygon blockchain and settling in USDC. Launched in 2020, it has processed over $5 billion in cumulative trading volume. The platform covers politics, economics, sports, science, crypto, and virtually any quantifiable event. Its liquidity depth on major markets is unmatched in the prediction market space.
For UK users, however, Polymarket presents a significant practical barrier: the platform geoblocks UK IP addresses as part of its compliance approach. UK traders cannot create accounts or place trades directly on polymarket.com. The Polymarket CLOB liquidity is accessible to UK users via PolyGram, which operates as a B2B mirror layer on top of the Polymarket infrastructure.
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | New York, USA |
| Blockchain | Polygon (MATIC) |
| Settlement currency | USDC |
| Order book type | CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) |
| Taker fee | 0–2% (varies by market and volume) |
| Maker fee | 0% (rebate possible) |
| UK access | Geoblocked (accessible via PolyGram) |
| Minimum deposit | $1 USDC |
| Active markets | 1,000+ at any time |
| Open interest (peak) | $500M+ (2024 US Election period) |
Polymarket’s fee structure is one of the most competitive in financial trading, not just among prediction markets.
Compared to traditional bookmakers (who embed a 5–20% overround into their odds), Polymarket’s fee structure is extremely trader-friendly. The absence of a house edge means a well-informed trader has a genuine statistical edge opportunity that simply does not exist in fixed-odds betting.
Polymarket’s market variety is exceptional. At any given time, you can trade on:
Liquidity quality varies significantly by market. The 2024 US Presidential Election markets had peak open interest exceeding $500 million, with bid-ask spreads under 0.5 cents. Sports markets are often thinner, with spreads of 2–5 cents and limited depth. For informed traders, the richest opportunity lies in the economics and politics markets where research quality differentiates outcomes.
Polymarket implemented UK geoblocking in 2023 as part of its compliance posture. The platform does not hold a UKGC licence and chose to block UK users rather than pursue UK regulatory authorisation. This is a significant practical limitation for UK traders who want access to Polymarket’s liquidity.
The practical solution is PolyGram, which operates as a CLOB liquidity mirror on top of Polymarket. UK users trade through PolyGram’s interface while their orders are routed to the Polymarket CLOB. The liquidity and prices are identical to Polymarket, without the geographic restriction.
Market resolution on Polymarket uses the UMA Protocol optimistic oracle. When a market’s end date arrives, an initial outcome is proposed. If no one disputes it within a challenge window (typically 24–48 hours), the market settles on that outcome. If a dispute is raised, UMA token holders vote to determine the correct resolution. Historical disputed resolutions have generally been handled accurately and fairly.
The decentralised resolution mechanism means no single party — including Polymarket itself — can unilaterally manipulate outcomes. This is a meaningful trustworthiness advantage over centralised prediction market operators.
Polymarket is, without question, the gold standard of prediction markets globally. Its liquidity depth, fee structure, market variety, and on-chain infrastructure are superior to every competitor. The UK geoblocking is the platform’s only significant practical limitation for this review’s audience.
For UK traders: access Polymarket liquidity via PolyGram. You get the same CLOB depth, the same prices, and the same on-chain settlement, without the geographic restriction.
PolyGram mirrors Polymarket’s CLOB for UK users. Same markets, same prices, no geoblocking.
Open PolyGram →