How Does Polymarket Work? Comprehensive Guide for Users in 2026

Updated Oct 07, 2026 •

Positive Aspects

Regulated DCM
Encrypted banking platform
Dedicated mobile apps

Negative Aspects

Prohibited in some regions

Polymarket is a leading global peer-2-peer prediction exchange where you can buy and sell trade contracts relating to a range of different real world event predictions including sports, politics, and crypto.

But how does Polymarket work, and what do you actually need to do to make trades here? Using our expert knowledge and testing, we answer this question in the below Polymarket user guide. We’ll explain the trading process, discuss how you can sign up, and give some live examples of Polymarket predictions.

How does Polymarket work - understanding the basics

This site is one of the most prominent peer-2-peer prediction exchanges in the world. It was originally founded in 2020 by Shayne Coplan, and operates under regulation from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US, plus other similar bodies around the world.

🤝 It’s a peer-2-peer prediction exchange

At its core, Polymarket is a peer-2-peer trading exchange. This means that the site itself facilitates trading between users - the trading of trade contracts based on real-world predictions, in a similar manner to how Forex, Futures, Commodities, and Stocks and Shares trading works. It’s just WHAT is being traded that is vastly different.

📈 Customers can buy and sell predictions for real world events

So, as a customer, you will be trading predictions at Polymarket. As you’ll see below, these are for a massive range of different real-world events, and we can look at an example to see exactly how the process works:

“When Will bitcoin hit $150k?”

By December 31st, 2026.
Yes - 3.8c
No - 96.3c

Here, the prediction is “When will Bitcoin hit $150k”, and we have a target date of basically the end of the year. There is then a yes and no option - these are the trade contracts that you can trade relating to that prediction. You can buy the “Yes” option for 3.8c each if you think that the price of Bitcoin will reach $150k by the target date, or the no option for 96.30c each if you don’t think that will happen.

You can then sell your trade contracts if their price shifts in your favor - just like you would with FOREX or Stocks and Shares. Alternatively, you can also HOLD your trade contracts and wait for the event to happen. If you hold your trade contracts and get the prediction right, it’s considered to have settled in-the-money, and you’ll get a $1 return minus fees.

However, if you hold your Polymarket trade contracts and get the prediction wrong, they are considered to have settled out-of-the-money, in which instance you’ll get a $0 return. This is the basis of trading at Polymarket, and the three options you have for your trade contracts.

Pros and cons of Polymarket

Overall, Polymarket remains one of the top prediction exchanges. It has a diverse collection of prediction markets, an easy-to-use website and mobile apps, plus relatively low trading fees. Additionally, it boasts some of the best trading volume and liquidity you can find, typically only second behind Kalshi. However, it lacks promotional opportunities, and US customers can only make trades via the mobile app, due to the desktop site being off limits in that region.

Positive Aspects

Huge selection of predictions
Low trading fees
Great website and apps
High trading volume

Negative Aspects

Few promotions

Signing up at Polymarket to start trading

Whether you’re using the Polymarket app or website, you HAVE to register an account if you want to credit your account and start trading. From our experience, this is a straightforward process, but there are some included verification checks. Additionally, there are some extra considerations to be aware of for the US version of Polymarket.

The registration process itself is simple, and Polymarket allows customers to sign up using a range of third-party logins including Steam, MetaMask, Google, Coinbase, and Phantom (with some of these being third-party crypto wallets so you can easily link them and transfer funds). At this point in time, the signup process should include the following steps:

Click one of our relevant Polymarket banners.
Click the Sign Up button.
Choose your sign up method.
Enter the correct account/personal details.
Complete any initial verification.
Log in to your new account.
Complete the full ID check if needed.

Polymarket has a strict KYC procedure as an anti-fraud measure and this can include basic email/SMS verification, plus a full ID check where you have to provide your home address details, plus upload a live photo ID and a selfie. Get these steps done as soon as possible, otherwise you may not be able to access all of the site’s features.

With your account created and verified, you can open the banking section and credit your account using one of the accepted fiat or crypto payment methods. After that, you are free to start browsing the prediction markets and to start trading.

Considerations for the US version of Polymarket

Polymarket is a global P2P prediction exchange, but it is also available in the US. There are virtually no differences between the two versions, and typically you should be able to find the exact same prediction markets and features when using the US version. However, US customers cannot use the Polymarket desktop website for any account activity.

The desktop website in the US is basically a view-only feature - you can use it to browse the prediction markets. If you want to engage in trading and do other things like credit your account, you’ll need to download either the Android or iOS mobile app from the US Play Store or App Store. In fact, when you open the US Polymarket site, you will most likely get a pop-up with a QR code to directly download and install the app.

Create an account with Polymarket today!

A variety of prediction markets to trade

Examples of predictions that you can trade at Polymarket

We’ve spoken a lot about the predictions that Polymarket supports, so now let’s look at some examples. In terms of overall genres and diversity, depending on your location, you should be able to find the following types of predictions to trade at this P2P exchange:

Politics
Sports
Crypto
Esports
Finance
Geopolitics
Tech
Culture
Economy
Weather
Mentions

The sports section is especially detailed, and it features predictions for football, tennis, US pro-league events, and other global sports. They also typically feature dedicated categories for major events like the Football World Cup.

The Polymarket crypto prediction setup is also one of the best you can find. It features a range of long term price predictions for popular tokens like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Dogecoin, but it’s one of the few operators to also offer short term price predictions with periods of 5 and 15 minutes.

There’s also plenty of financial, political, and scientific-based predictions, and to give you an idea of some examples from different categories, we’ve created a table below that features predictions that were live at the time we wrote this guide:

Polymarket Prediction	Category	Yes	No
What price will Ethereum hit in July? ($2,000)	Crypto	52c	49c
Football World Cup - Spain vs. Argentina (Argentina to win)	Sports	42c	59c
How many Fed rate cuts in 2026? (0 bps)	Finance	82c	17c
Which company has the best AI model at the end of July? (Anthropic)	Tech	97c	2c
Straight of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by July 31st?	Geopolitics	1c	98c
Highest temperature in Wellington on July 17th? (14c)	Weather	71c	30c

Conclusion - Polymarket is one of the top global prediction exchanges

We hope you’ve found this Polymarket user guide insightful, and you now have a clear idea of what you can do at this prediction exchange and how Polymarket works. The key pointers to remember are that it’s a global P2P exchange, it supports a vast array of different prediction markets, and that you have the option of buying, selling, and settling trade contracts relating to these predictions.

Although a global exchange, US customers also have the option of signing up here, but you can only use the mobile app to make trades. If anyone wants to give it a try and start trading, we have a range of regional banners and links on this page that you should be able to click - these will take you to your localized version of Polymarket to sign up.

Polymarket user guide FAQs

Do you have to create an account to browse the Polymarket predictions?

No. You can use the Polymarket website to view the different predictions they have without registering. However, if you want to actively participate in trades, you’ll need to sign up - you can do so using the regional banners we have on this page.

What payment methods does Polymarket support?

This can vary depending on your location, but you should be able to make deposits and withdrawals using debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfer, or a variety of cryptocurrencies.

What happens if you get your prediction wrong at Polymarket?

If you have held your trade contracts until the prediction event happens, and you got the prediction wrong, your contracts have settled out-of-the-money and in this instance you would get a $0 return from them.