Polymarket's Donald Trump Whale Is French, Bets Out Of Conviction And Not To Manipulate The Market, Investigation Reveals

Polymarket has identified that a prominent whale trader, managing four accounts tied to Donald Trump-related bets, is of French nationality.

What Happened: The trader, using the alias Fredi9999, has an “extensive background in trading and financial services,” according to Polymarket, as reported by The New York Times. He has invested heavily in markets favoring a Republican victory in the upcoming U.S. election on Nov. 5.

Polymarket's investigation confirmed that Fredi9999's bets are based on personal views of the election outcome, with no signs of manipulation. The platform is conducting additional checks to ensure users—especially those placing large bets—are located outside the U.S.

The election betting platform has seen around $2.4 billion in trades this year for the presidential election market, with the current implied probability of a Trump win at 63%.

Also Read: Mark Cuban Dismisses Polymarket Election Odds As Meaningless: ‘Most Of The Money Is Foreign’

Why It Matters: Fredi9999 has drawn attention within the trading community for wagering over $52 million on various Trump-related bets, including the election, popular vote, and battleground states.

Since 2022, Polymarket has been prohibited from allowing U.S. users to place bets, following a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The platform hopes to gain approval to operate in the U.S. under regulation by the CFTC.

What’s Next: The influence of Bitcoin as an institutional asset class is expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga’s upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.

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