Degens Lose Again After Betting That Trump and Harris Would Debate Bitcoin and Crypto

While viewers and commentators might debate who won last night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Polymarket bettors hoping that they would reference Bitcoin under the national spotlight were undoubtedly losers.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency went unmentioned during Tuesday’s high-stakes matchup between the Republican and Democratic nominees, souring bets on crypto prediction market platform Polymarket in the process.

Traders wagered approximately $217,000 and $502,000, respectively, on whether Harris or Trump would reference Bitcoin or crypto on the debate stage. Just before the verbal sparring began, Trump had a 26% chance of fulfilling that vision versus Harris’ 9% odds, according to bettors.

While Polymarket has emerged as a tool for forecasting the ultimate outcome of November's election, this isn't the first time that bettors on the blockchain-based platform have lost cash wagering on Bitcoin and crypto discussion in a debate.

Bitcoin Sinks After Trump and Harris Leave Crypto Out of Presidential Debate

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a modest decline on Wednesday, dropping approximately 1.5% to trade at $56,500. The slip comes after the highly anticipated U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made no mention of cryptocurrency regulation. The debate, which covered a wide range of topics from abortion rights to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, left crypto enthusiasts and investors yearning for clarity on the candidates' stances regarding digita...

Before Trump faced off against President Joe Biden in June, Polymarket traders penciled in a 57% chance that Trump would mention Bitcoin or crypto. Prior to that spectacle, Polymarket traders had ponied up $345,000 on the potential Trump reference.

Meanwhile, the crypto industry has been pouring massive amounts of cash into 2024 elections, supporting crypto-friendly candidates while trying to stifle skeptics. Harris has left the issue of crypto regulation untouched since her upstart candidacy began, while Trump has gone all-in as a self-described “crypto president.”

Donald Trump and Bitcoin: From 'Not a Fan' to Crypto President—With His Own Meme Coin

Bitcoin-friendly Donald Trump won the election in November, and was inaugurated in January as the 47th President of the United States of America. But ahead of being formally sworn in, the commander in chief dropped a meme coin. Yes, you read that right. Running on the Solana network, the TRUMP token at one point had a market cap of $14 billion. It’s since plunged to $1.8 billion but the move signaled the new President’s growing enthusiasm for the digital asset space after campaigning to help Bit...

Stand With Crypto, a crypto advocacy organization, was among those hoping that Bitcoin or crypto would be mentioned during Tuesday’s debate. 

The nonprofit initially launched by Coinbase encouraged digital asset owners to send ABC, the debate’s host, a letter asking moderators to include a crypto question.

“Giving the major Presidential candidates a chance to weigh in on this transformational technology [...] would go a long way towards educating the electorate,” a pre-drafted letter on Stand With Crypto’s website stated.

Before Trump and Biden squared off months ago, the nonprofit mustered 2,300 emails asking CNN to include a crypto question in that matchup, according to a press release.

Donald Trump Rant About Immigrants 'Eating the Pets' Didn't Do Much for Related Meme Coins

The anti-immigrant dog and cat eating false claims Donald Trump referenced during last night’s presidential debate has been circulating in the trenches of Pump.fun for a couple of days. Despite this, meme coins referencing the disproven claim flopped during the debate. Interestingly, most of them saw their peak hours before the Republican nominee brought it up. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs—the people that came in—they’re eating the cats,” Trump said during a debate with Vice Presiden...

So far, Bitcoin and crypto haven’t had a high-profile political moment, aside from Trump’s July speech at the annual Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. Still, Harris’ team indicated Wednesday that the vice president would be open to another televised matchup.

Edited by Andrew Hayward