Polymarket Launches Five-Minute Crypto Up/Down Prediction Market on Its U.S. Platform

Oct. 29 — According to CoinDesk, prediction platform Polymarket has launched five-minute crypto up/down betting contracts on its regulated U.S. platform. The platform is operated by QCX LLC and regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Traders can bet on whether assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP close above or below their starting price within five minutes. A correct prediction pays $1 per share, while an incorrect one pays zero. The structure resembles binary options and lowers the barrier to short-term derivatives trading.

The launch comes as the CFTC re-examines whether Polymarket complies with the terms of its 2022 settlement and looks into customer protection measures on its U.S. platform. Earlier research had pointed to potential settlement manipulation risks in the old version of the five-minute contracts, and the platform has switched to a time-weighted average price (TWAP) settlement mechanism.