Prediction market platform Polymarket has made a subtle but notable change to its trading model by introducing taker fees on 15-minute crypto up/down markets. The adjustment appeared through updates to the platform’s documentation rather than a public announcement.
Under the new structure, only takers are charged fees, while the collected amounts are redistributed daily to liquidity providers in USDC. Polymarket does not retain the revenue, positioning the change as a liquidity incentive rather than a new source of protocol income. The fee level varies with market odds, peaking when probabilities are near even and tapering off as prices approach certainty.
The move applies exclusively to short-duration crypto markets. Longer-term event contracts, political markets, and non-crypto predictions remain unaffected and continue to operate without fees. According to archived documentation, this fee language was not present previously, suggesting a recent and deliberate update. Community reaction has framed the change as a market-structure refinement. Traders noted that the fees may discourage wash trading and high-frequency bot activity while encouraging tighter spreads and more reliable liquidity through maker rebates.
