A Wall Street Journal report on Sept. 19, 2026, documented attempts to move illicit funds on Polymarket. Throughout February 2026, bad actors linked stolen debit cards to thousands of US-based Polymarket accounts. The syndicate attempted to move at least $10 million through various trades on the platform before withdrawing the funds to accounts under their control.
During the same month, payment processor Checkout.com had to reject over 80% of incoming deposits to Polymarket after detecting them as fraudulent transactions. That rejection rate far exceeded the payment processing industry average, which typically hovers around 1%. Checkout.com has not publicly confirmed the 80% figure. While the firm provides clients with fraud-scoring risk assessment tools, transaction filters, and authentication systems, the final decision to accept or cancel a transaction ultimately rests with the merchant - in this case, Polymarket.
Internal Response and CEO Guidance
The high transaction rejection rate in February sparked internal concerns within the company. Current and former employees stated that Polymarket’s compliance team reported the issue directly to CEO Shayne Coplan. In response to his team’s report, Coplan reportedly instructed them to ignore the issue: “Just keep growing and pay the fines in case regulators find out.”
Polymarket has not publicly confirmed the accuracy of Coplan’s reported remarks. The company only issued a written statement asserting that it maintains dedicated procedures to identify suspicious activity, while reiterating its commitment to cooperating with law enforcement and regulators.
What Remains Unanswered
It is important to note that the $10 million figure from the Wall Street Journal report represents only the amount perpetrators attempted to move, rather than actual losses incurred by users or Polymarket. The exact amount of stolen funds ultimately withdrawn from the platform remains completely unconfirmed.
Attempts to move stolen funds did not stop in February. The activity persisted over the following months, although daily deposit rejection rates did not return to the peak of the initial wave. These developments add to the mounting legal scrutiny facing the Polygon-based decentralized platform, following previous action by South Korean authorities targeting 26 Polymarket users over $12.7 million in betting activity.
As a prediction market platform, Polymarket has seen a surge in users driven by heightened interest in elections and major global events. These reports of misuse underscore the need for serious evaluation: rapid user growth must be balanced with multi-layered security systems to prevent illicit funds from entering the platform.
Reported via crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
