BlockBeats news: On January 7, according to a report by MarketWatch, customers of the prediction market Polymarket expressed strong dissatisfaction after the platform refused to pay out bets related to "the U.S. invading Venezuela," claiming that the events that occurred over the weekend did not constitute an "invasion." According to Polymarket's official website, the outcome of the market "The U.S. will invade Venezuela before December 31" is currently marked as "No," with a trading volume of $2.76 million.
An anonymous user posted on the Polymarket website questioning, "So, what exactly counts as an invasion?" and referred to the company as "Polyscam (a scam)." Another user stated, "Polymarket has degenerated into sheer arbitrary judgment. Words are redefined at will, detached from any accepted meaning, and facts are outright ignored. It is obviously absurd to not classify a military invasion, the kidnapping of a country's leader, and the takeover of a nation as an invasion." Someone else wrote, "Are you kidding me?" Another user countered, "So it's not an invasion just because the operation was quick and didn't result in many deaths?" (According to a Venezuelan official cited by The New York Times, the number of deaths from the raid was 80.)
Polymarket explains on its website: "This market refers to a U.S. military action aimed at establishing control. When Trump mentioned ongoing negotiations with the Venezuelan government and stated that the U.S. would 'run' Venezuela, this statement alone is not sufficient to classify a 'raiding and evacuation' operation aimed at capturing Maduro as an invasion."
MarketWatch sought an explanation from Polymarket but received no response. Reporters also directly emailed Shayne Coplan, the 28-year-old crypto billionaire founder and CEO, but got no reply as well.