Kamala Harris emerged as the perceived victor over Donald Trump in their first US presidential debate, based on insights from the decentralized prediction market Polymarket.
Although Harris’ debate performance boosted her chances, both candidates remain neck and neck in Polymarket’s betting contract for the overall election outcome.
This was the second debate of the 2024 election season and the first one between Harris and Trump, with Harris’ campaign advocating for a third debate.
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Polymarket bettors were highly engaged throughout the event, which kicked off with an unexpected moment: a handshake between the two candidates. It was Trump’s first debate handshake since 2016, when he faced Hillary Clinton. Before the event, the chances of this handshake happening were placed at only 30%, with around $360,000 riding on the outcome.
Bettors had set low expectations for any mention of crypto or Bitcoin (BTC) during the debate, with odds at 26% for Trump and just 14% for Harris. Their predictions were spot on—while the debate included segments on the economy, it did not touch on topics like cryptocurrency, technology, or financial policies.
Users show high confidence that Harris will emerge as the debate’s winner, with a 99% chance that polls will declare her the victor. Additionally, they have placed a 59% chance that Harris would become the favorite in Polymarket’s election contract the day after the debate.
Overall, betting on the 2024 presidential election has reached a total of nearly $860 million, reflecting how closely watched and contentious this race has become.
In other news, the Trump family has revealed the goal of its upcoming project: to promote decentralized finance and US dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Gode is a Web3 Market Analyst who researches the most important industry events and interprets how they affect the wider Web3 space. Her formal education in media culture & digital rhetoric allows her to employ a methodical approach to evaluating critical Web3 news data, including large-scale events and the wider social sentiment within the ecosystem.
Gode is a mutilingual professional, having studied in multiple universities all across Europe. This allows her to have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to analyze Web3 social sentiments spanning different cultures and languages and, in turn, develop a much deeper understanding of how the Web3 space is growing within different communities. With the rest of her team, Gode works to identify crucial crypto news patterns and provide unbiased and data-driven information.
Gode’s passions include working and communicating with people, and when she’s not researching Web3 news, she spends her time traveling and watching true crime documentaries.
