Polymarket Introduces Five-Minute Crypto Contracts to US Application

Prediction market platform Polymarket has introduced five-minute cryptocurrency contracts directly within its US application ¹. The new short-duration markets support contracts for $BTC, $ETH, $SOL, and $XRP ¹. The rollout introduces high-frequency prediction windows to the platform's US-facing product interface ¹.

Under the operational mechanics of the new offering, the markets determine settlement values using index pricing provided by CF Benchmarks ¹. In situations where contract price outcomes end in a tie, the platform specifies that positions will settle as "Up" ¹. Additionally, taker fees for these short-duration contracts are assessed separately from the underlying market spread ¹.

Market Structure and Settlement Mechanics

The four digital assets included in the initial launch—$BTC, $ETH, $SOL, and $XRP—rely on these CF Benchmarks reference rates to establish contract outcomes over the five-minute durations ¹. The fee structure distinguishes execution costs from trading spreads by billing taker fees as an independent charge ¹. The update follows broader industry movements around retail contract volume, such as when Robinhood reported a surge in prediction contracts, alongside previous administrative developments where Polymarket probed election bets and referred cases to the CFTC regarding market activity ¹.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded at $80,543, up 1.0% over the trailing 24 hours, while Ether traded at $2,339, up 1.3%. The five-minute crypto contracts remain active on the platform's US application, applying the designated CF Benchmarks settlement feed across all four supported asset markets ¹.