Polymarket Teams Up With Elon’s X—Are Degens Already Flooding In?

Prediction markets just got a turbocharge. Polymarket’s new tie-up with X (formerly Twitter) puts crypto betting front-and-center for Musk’s army of meme-posters and crypto bros.

The real question? Whether this turns into a liquidity tsunami or just another playground for over-leveraged gamblers. Early signs suggest the degens are already piling in—because nothing screams 'financial innovation' like gambling with extra steps.

X’s userbase, notorious for chasing hype, now gets direct access to Polymarket’s prediction contracts. Will this finally make crypto markets 'fun' again? Or just accelerate the usual cycle of euphoria and regret?

Either way, Wall Street’s watching—and probably seething that they didn’t think of monetizing degeneracy first.

Polymarket makes waves

Polymarket surged into the spotlight during the U.S presidential race, emerging as the go-to platform for real-time political sentiment and probabilistic forecasts.

In fact, in the month of May, Polymarket recorded a trading volume of $1.103 billion – Marking its fourth consecutive month-on-month hike.

Source: Dune Analytics

Worth noting, however, that this figure was still significantly below its December 2023 peak of $2.577 billion.

Similarly, while 145.7k new users joined the platform, the number of active traders declined to 277.7k, extending a four-month downward trend.

Open Interest, once soaring at $512 million during the height of the election season, soon dropped sharply to approximately $100 million. This is a sign of both the platform’s evolving user engagement and the cyclical nature of its market activity.

As expected, the announcement of Polymarket’s partnership with xAI and X has not been without controversy, coming on the heels of escalating tensions between U.S. President Donald TRUMP and Elon Musk.

Community reactions

Now, while many have praised the MOVE as a step towards broader adoption and innovation in prediction markets, critics have been quick to question the motivations behind it.

For instance, one user on X voiced concerns over the alliance, hinting at underlying political dynamics and potential biases influencing the platform’s direction.

“wow now X is a gambling app.”

Such a mixed reception underscores the fragile intersection of technology, finance, and politics, particularly at a time when public trust and transparency are paramount.