Polymarket Expands Fees, Crypto Traders Hit Hardest

Polymarket will expand trading fees across most market categories on March 30, hitting crypto markets hardest at 1.8% peak rates while sports bettors face just 0.75%.

Polymarket currently applies trading fees only to crypto and sports event contracts.

Crypto Traders Hit Hardest In Polymarket’s New Fees Structure

Under the new structure, fees will extend to politics, finance, economics, culture, weather, tech, and other categories for the first time.

The platform uses a probability-based fee model rather than a flat commission. Fees peak when an event has a probability near 50% and approach zero as outcomes become more certain.

Crypto markets will carry the highest effective rates, rising from 1.56% to 1.8% at the midpoint, according to Polymarket’s updated fee schedule.

Sports markets remain the cheapest at 0.75%, up from 0.44%. A $50 sports trade at 50% probability now costs $0.38 in fees, up from $0.22. Most other categories will peak between 1% and 1.56%.

Polymarket Launches Referral Program

Alongside the fee expansion, Polymarket launched a referral program open to users who have traded at least $10,000 in volume.

Referrers earn 30% of fees generated by direct referrals and 10% from indirect referrals for the first 180 days after a referred user signs up. Rewards are unlimited and paid daily at midnight UTC.

Polymarket also updated its market integrity rules across its international and CFTC-regulated U.S. platforms. The new rules prohibit trading on stolen confidential information, illegal tips, and by individuals who can influence event outcomes.

Users can report suspicious activity through new Market Integrity pages.

The combined changes position Polymarket closer to a regulated exchange model as prediction markets draw growing attention from both traders and regulators.