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The Polymarket trader who bet big on a Donald Trump win made much more than previously thought.
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New research from Chainalysis estimates a total profit of over $85 million, up from $48 million.
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As many as 11 accounts were operated by the same trader, the firm said.
A Polymarket trader who bet tens of millions on Donald Trump’s presidential win appears to have raked in a much larger profit than previously known.
A new estimate now places that figure at more than $85 million, well above the earlier tally of $48 million, according to research from the blockchain-analysis firm Chainalysis.
The firm also said as many as 11 accounts have been tied to the same so-called whale trader, recently revealed as a French trader known as Théo. The whale was previously believed to have operated four accounts.
There had been speculation that the wagers and their impact on the Polymarket presidential-election odds was a campaign to sway sentiment towards Trump. But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Théo indicated that the bet simply reflected a high-conviction outlook.
It wasn’t always a given that the trader would succeed: one day before the election, his four known accounts held about $3 million in unrealized losses as the race tightened.
Collectively, Polymarket traders bet around $3.7 billion in volume over who would win the US presidency. The surge has since prompted French gambling regulators to investigate the site and ensure it complies with domestic law.
Read the original article on Business Insider
