TL;DR:
- Polymarket launched an audit of startups in its developer program that offer apps to copy trades from traders with possible insider information.
- One of the audited startups, Polycool, published on its site a “guide to insider trading on Polymarket”, arguing that the rules differ from those of the stock market.
- The copy-trading apps drove hundreds of millions of dollars in trading volume on the platform.
Polymarket launched an audit of startups integrated into its developer program that offer copy-trading applications, which allow users to track and replicate the trades of traders with possible access to non-public information. The case was reported by The Information.
The predictions platform was already facing pressure to crack down on insider trading when, in late 2024, it launched a program designed to support external startups that would channel trades into its market. However, those same companies began identifying accounts suspected of trading on privileged information and offering them as copyable signals to their own clients.
The Developer Program and its Contradictions
The audited applications participated in the Builders Program that the platform launched in November 2025. One of them, Polycool, went so far as to publish on its website a “guide to insider trading on Polymarket”, arguing that the rules of decentralized prediction markets differ from those of the traditional stock market. “This is not the stock market, where using non-public information can land you in prison”, the text stated. Another startup linked to the program, Kreo, directly offered to help users “find insiders before everyone else“.
According to The Information, these apps generate lists of traders with winning streaks, flag bets with unusually high amounts or atypical timing that could be based on confidential information, and charge a subscription fee for access to that data. Users can receive notifications or set up bots to automatically replicate trades.
Volume and Reputational Risk for Polymarket
The copy-trading apps drove trading volume on the platform by hundreds of millions of dollars, revealing the extent to which the platform indirectly benefited from a practice it now seeks to regulate. Both Polymarket and its main competitor, Kalshi, have faced intense scrutiny over this type of activity. Last March, Polymarket introduced clearer rules on insider trading and their enforcement.
