New findings suggest a minuscule group of traders is accumulating the majority of profits on Polymarket, with less than 1% of wallets capturing around half of all gains in key markets. A report by blockchain analytics firm Solidus Labs analyzed Polymarket's politics markets between December 2025 and February 2026, discovering that a mere 0.55% of profitable maker wallets and 0.26% of winning taker wallets accounted for approximately 50% of gains, translating to around $8 million out of $16 million in profits. This data supports previous academic research, which found that a small percentage of traders drives most price discovery.
The report highlights the significant advantages of this small group, including greater capital depth, infrastructure, and execution strategies, which contribute to the substantial imbalance. Furthermore, the study identified signs of wash trading, with around 15% of volume in some markets exhibiting patterns consistent with self-trading or economically neutral positions.
While some of this volume may be attributed to incentive farming, it is essential to approach these findings with a critical perspective, considering the potential motivations behind the report.