Polymarket Makes Major Infrastructure Change with Circle USDC Partnership

TLDR

• Polymarket is partnering with Circle to switch from bridged USDC (USDC.e) on Polygon to Circle-issued native USDC over the next few months
• Native USDC can be redeemed directly one-for-one for US dollars and eliminates reliance on cross-chain bridges, which are vulnerable to security risks
• Polymarket handled $7.66 billion in trading volume in January 2026 and processed over $22 billion in the first eleven months of 2025
• The migration aims to provide faster, more reliable transactions and enhance market integrity as the platform grows
• Major crypto exchanges including Gemini, Coinbase, and Crypto.com have recently launched their own prediction market platforms

Polymarket announced a partnership with Circle Internet Group on Thursday to migrate its settlement infrastructure from bridged USDC to native USDC. The transition will take place over the next few months.

The prediction market platform currently uses bridged USDC, known as USDC.e, on the Polygon network as trading collateral. Native USDC comes directly from Circle’s regulated entities and can be redeemed one-for-one for US dollars.

Bridged tokens require intermediary protocols to transfer assets between different blockchains. These cross-chain bridges lock assets on one network and create corresponding representations on another network.

Cross-chain bridges have become targets for security exploits in the crypto industry. Native stablecoins remove this intermediary step, creating a more direct settlement path.

Platform Growth Drives Infrastructure Update

Polymarket processed $7.66 billion in trading volume during January 2026. The platform handled over $22 billion in total trading volume across the first eleven months of 2025, representing a 57% increase from 2024.

In October 2025, Polymarket recorded $3 billion in trading volume on Polygon with more than 338,000 active traders. The platform currently ranks as the second-largest prediction market worldwide by volume.

USDC holds the position of second-largest stablecoin in the crypto market. Tether’s USDt leads the category, while USDC maintains a market capitalization of approximately $70.77 billion according to Defillama data.

Prediction Market Competition Intensifies

Kalshi currently operates as the largest prediction market platform with $9.55 billion in monthly volume. The platform recently formed a partnership with Coinbase that likely contributed to its trading activity.

Several major crypto exchanges entered the prediction market space in recent months. Gemini launched Gemini Predictions in mid-December, offering event-based trading across all 50 US states after receiving regulatory approval.

Coinbase announced its own prediction market in partnership with Kalshi one day after Gemini’s launch. Crypto.com followed on Tuesday with the debut of OG, a standalone prediction market platform operated by Crypto.com Derivatives North America for US users only.

Traditional finance companies also moved into the sector. Retail brokerage Robinhood and sports betting platform DraftKings both launched prediction market offerings in 2025.

The prediction market category gained widespread attention during the 2024 US presidential election. However, some analysts have raised concerns about potential insider trading on these platforms.

Regulatory Scrutiny Continues

State gaming regulators have challenged the legal status of prediction markets. Kalshi faces legal scrutiny from authorities in Massachusetts, New York, and several other states over whether its event contracts constitute gambling.

Portugal recently ordered a halt to political betting on prediction platforms. Regulators worldwide continue to examine how prediction markets operate and whether existing gambling laws apply to them.

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