Research has uncovered that a small group of traders is dominating the profits on Polymarket, with less than 1% of wallets accounting for roughly half of all gains. A report by blockchain analytics firm Solidus Labs found that between December 2025 and February 2026, a mere 0.55% of profitable maker wallets and 0.26% of winning taker wallets captured 50% of gains in key markets, translating to around $8 million in profits. This discovery reinforces previous academic findings that a small minority of traders drives most price discovery. The report highlights a significant imbalance, suggesting a structural divide between a small group of sophisticated traders and the broader base of participants.
While some traders may have a legitimate advantage due to their capital, infrastructure, or execution strategies, the scale of the imbalance raises concerns. The study also identified signs of wash trading, with approximately 15% of volume in some markets exhibiting patterns consistent with self-trading or economically neutral positions. Solidus Labs' findings are based on verifiable on-chain data, but the firm's role as a market surveillance platform provider may influence the framing of the results.