1. Polymarket Integration with Bloomberg
2. Polymarket Features and Role in Predictions
3. Competition and Future Predictions

Bloomberg, the financial data and news service, is adding election odds data from crypto betting platform Polymarket to its Terminal. This was announced on Aug. 29 by Michael McDonough, Bloomberg’s chief economist for financial products, on X.

Polymarket Integration with Bloomberg

The integration highlights the growing importance of prediction markets in analyzing political trends and election odds. It also underscores the increasing adoption of Web3 by traditional financial institutions. Bloomberg's Terminal now includes Polymarket odds for the United States presidential election outcome alongside data from other prediction markets and polling services.

Polymarket Features and Role in Predictions

Polymarket is a blockchain-based prediction market built on the Polygon network. It allows users to create and bet on a variety of event outcomes, using transparent onchain data and smart contracts to facilitate trades and payouts. The platform has emerged as a go-to for tracking real-time odds on outcomes for the US elections, with monthly trading volume for August approaching $450 million.

Competition and Future Predictions

Polymarket faces challenges from rivals such as Solana-based Drift Protocol’s BET platform, which surpassed Polymarket in daily trading volume for the first time on Aug. 29. In August, Polymarket bettors accurately predicted that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would exit the presidential race before September 2024, with odds surging from 8% to upward of 90% ahead of his Aug. 23 speech in which he suspended his campaign.

The integration of Polymarket data into Bloomberg’s Terminal highlights the importance of prediction markets and the increasing application of Web3 technologies in traditional financial institutions. It also signifies a growing interest in these technologies among major players in the financial sector.