The Daily PulseBusiness
Polymarket International Platform Offline After Third‑Party Hack, Trading Paused
Reported by Tanvi Pillai (Section Editor) · CNBC - Top News ·
Reported by one source so far
Photo: Wikimedia CommonsPolymarket’s international prediction market platform went offline after a hack of an unnamed third‑party provider. Traders posted on social media that unauthorized withdrawals appeared in their accounts on Thursday afternoon. In reaction, Polymarket halted trading on the international platform while it investigated. The company says it has repaired the breach on its side and will restart trading at 3:00 p.m. ET. A spokesperson added that any wallets affected by the hack will be made whole. The same spokesperson confirmed the incident has been reported to U.K. law‑enforcement because the third‑party provider operates from that country. Polymarket’s international exchange runs as a decentralized finance service on the Polygon blockchain and is not regulated in the United States. The domestic U.S. exchange continued to operate normally throughout the outage. The disruption arrives only days before both the international and U.S. exchanges are expected to see a surge in activity ahead of the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3. ## Context The outage highlights the security risks that decentralized platforms face when they rely on external service providers, especially before high‑stakes events like national elections where trading volumes spike.
ExplainerWhy this matters
What Happened
Polymarket’s international prediction market, built on the Polygon blockchain, stopped trading after a hack of a third‑party service that handled part of its operations. The breach led to unauthorized withdrawals from user wallets, prompting an immediate pause in trading.
Why It Matters
The platform’s outage shows how decentralized finance services can be vulnerable to attacks on external partners, even when the core protocol itself is secure. Because the exchange is unregulated in the U.S., users have fewer legal protections, making the company’s promise to reimburse affected wallets crucial for trust. The timing is significant: the platform expects a surge in bets around the U.S. midterm elections, and any disruption could affect market liquidity and price signals that participants rely on.
What Happens Next
Polymarket plans to resume trading at the announced time and will work with U.K. authorities to investigate the third‑party breach. Users should monitor updates from the platform for any further security measures or compensation details. The incident may push Polymarket and similar services to review third‑party dependencies and strengthen safeguards before future high‑volume events.
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