Traders file lawsuit against Polymarket over ‘no’ ruling on Bitcoin selling strategy

Two Polymarket traders are suing Prediction market platform, claiming it rewrote the rules of the market after the fact to deny them a winning payout tied to Strategy’s Bitcoin sale.

William Wood and Thomas Bush foot The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court on July 3, names Polymarket CEO Shane Coplan and Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabre.

They claim breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment in the alternative, deceptive acts and practices, and false advertising, and are seeking $1 per share of their Yes stock, plus damages and legal fees.

Disputed Bitcoin selling strategy

the Contested market I wondered if Strategy would sell any Bitcoin by May 31st. The Michael Saylor-led company did just that, revealing in a June 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it… Sold 32 Bitcoin between May 26 and 31, the first such sale since 2022. However, because the disclosure took place one day after the deadline, Polymarket added a note that “confirmation achieved outside the market time frame is not eligible,” and the contract was resolved with a “no” after a vote of UMA holders, which Oracle Polymarket uses to settle disputes.

This wouldn’t be Strategy’s last sale: the company has done so ever since Outline of the plan To sell up to an additional $1.25 billion to fund its dividend, it this week unloaded some of it $216 million in Bitcoin Under “BTC Monetization Program”.

Plaintiffs contend that Strategy’s submission was unequivocal evidence under the market’s own rules, which identified company disclosures as the primary source, and that adding a confirmation deadline after that nullified Polymarket’s promise to achieve objective results. A market that does not respect a proven event, the complaint says, “is not seeking the truth, it is controlling the payment.”

Contested markets

Polymarket recorded more than 1,150 contested markets in 2026, already exceeding last year’s total, and is investigating Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal I find that a small set of large portfolios skews many outcomes, as many UMA voters also own shares in the markets they judge.

The strategic battle was the largest on the platform since a $237 million market cap last year Whether the Ukrainian president wears a suit. Burwick Law, which brought the case, He said It is examining similar claims from other traders.

Polymarket has not publicly responded to the complaint. The scrutiny has done little to slow its rise: the platform, which is now its US arm CFTC registered exchangeand has attracted nearly $2 billion from New York Stock Exchange parent ICE Its recent value reached $9 billion. In April, the company It is said It seeks to raise $400 million at a $15 billion valuation.