45,000 Polymarket markets see zero trades, activity clustered

CNBC found 70% of Polymarket's closed markets had under $10,000 in volume, and over 45,000 had zero trades. Most activity is concentrated in a few high-profile contracts, often driven by bots.

A CNBC analysis of Polymarket data from 2021 through May 2026 reveals that approximately 70% of closed markets recorded less than $10,000 in trading volume. Notably, over 45,000 markets—nearly 5% of the total—reported zero trading activity. The data, sourced from Polymarket’s Gamma API, indicates that trading is heavily concentrated in a handful of high-profile contracts, such as those linked to major events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which pushed weekly volumes as high as $5.4 billion. Despite these headline figures, most markets remain inactive or thinly traded, with fewer than 10% attracting between $100,000 and $1 million in volume. Bots account for over 80% of activity in markets with less than $10,000 in volume, generating significant profits across all tiers. These findings highlight a stark contrast between headline growth and widespread inactivity, showing that liquidity is clustered around marquee events rather than evenly distributed.