Research: About 60% of Polymarket's World Cup first-time users had no prior exposure to blockchain, making prediction markets a new entry point into cryptocurrency

According to Cointelegraph, a study based on 857,000 active users of Polymarket shows that about 60% of users who placed their first bets during the World Cup had never interacted with blockchain protocols before.

Alvin Kan, Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, stated that prediction markets have changed the traditional logic for crypto users to get involved—users no longer need to understand blockchain technology first, but can participate directly because they have opinions on real-world events. This has made prediction markets a new entry point for some users into the crypto space.

Data shows that the trading volume of Polymarket's World Cup champion contracts has exceeded $3.1 billion, with sports contracts contributing over $4.9 billion in trading volume to Polymarket in the past 30 days, and reaching $8.5 billion on Kalshi, becoming the main trading category on both platforms.