Research suggests that a small minority of traders is driving the market, but an even smaller group is reaping most of the benefits. A recent report by blockchain analytics firm Solidus Labs found that on Polymarket, less than 1% of wallets are taking home roughly half of the profits in key markets.
Between December 2025 and February 2026, a mere 0.55% of profitable maker wallets and 0.26% of winning taker wallets accounted for around 50% of the gains, totaling approximately $8 million out of $16 million in profits. This data supports earlier findings that about 3% of Polymarket traders are responsible for most price movements.
The report highlights that while some traders may have a legitimate advantage due to their sophistication, capital, or speed, the scale of the imbalance suggests a structural divide between a small group of privileged traders and the majority of participants. It also notes signs of wash trading, with around 15% of volume in some markets exhibiting patterns consistent with self-trading or economically neutral positions. Solidus Labs' study relies on verifiable on-chain data, but its findings should be considered in the context of the firm's market surveillance sales pitch.