Nine anonymous cryptocurrency wallets reportedly hold massive sway over who wins and loses some of Polymarket’s most contested prediction market bets – drawing blowback from a growing number of unhappy traders. 

Polymarket’s third-party resolution mechanism over the past year has adjudicated nearly 2,000 financial contracts, including bets on war, elections and geopolitical conflict, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of blockchain records and past votes. 

When the outcome of a Polymarket financial contract is challenged, the dispute goes to a vote among holders of UMA, an independent cryptocurrency.