Polymarket Probes Suspicious Profitable Trades in Israeli Elections
Polymarket is investigating suspicious high-profit trades placed during the Israeli Knesset elections, as newly created accounts cashed out following exit polls.
The prediction market platform Polymarket is investigating a series of highly timed and lucrative trades surrounding the recent Israeli Knesset elections, according to Bloomberg News.
Shortly before polling stations closed on Tuesday, hundreds of newly created accounts placed targeted wagers predicting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would retain his post and that the Likud party would secure the highest number of mandates. These transactions rapidly yielded substantial profits, with some accounts instantly cashing out over 100,000 dollars after television exit polls indicated that Likud had won more mandates than early projections suggested.
In addition, significant profits accumulated in numerous digital wallets remain unredeemed. Polymarket's internal investigations team told Bloomberg that it is reviewing dozens of new wallets that engaged in trading around the election. Meanwhile, data analytics firms Polysights and Bubblemaps flagged the activity as suspicious and announced they are conducting independent probes into the matter.
A representative for Bubblemaps told Reuters that 101 Polymarket accounts were funded for the first time on election day itself, prior to the closure of the polls. A small portion of these accounts already cashed out their earnings immediately following the publication of the exit polls, the representative noted.
Amid a broader global trend, prediction markets face mounting regulatory scrutiny over insider trading concerns, particularly given the sharp surge in trading volumes on platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi. Bloomberg noted that the findings remain inconclusive, as distinguishing between insider trading and thorough independent research or successful guesswork remains challenging. Representatives for Polymarket and Polysights did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
