In brief
- A $237 million Polymarket market on Zelenskyy’s attire resolved to “No” despite widespread visual and media claims he wore a suit.
- UMA’s oracle cited a lack of “credible reporting consensus” in its July 1 ruling, sparking backlash and allegations of inconsistency.
- Critics argue token-weighted voting enabled outcome manipulation, while community-led proposals for reform were dismissed.
A high-profile Polymarket contract asking whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would wear a suit before July closed with a final resolution of “No” on Tuesday evening, despite widespread media coverage and images suggesting otherwise.
Tuesday’s final review followed a series of disputes, beginning with a challenge to an initial “Yes” outcome. That result was later overturned in favour of “No” after a second review, before being finalized.
The latter "No" outcome triggered backlash from users and commentators across crypto circles, reigniting concerns over market governance, resolution standards, and the role of token-weighted voting in decentralized protocols.
The market, which attracted more than $237 million in trading volume, was among Polymarket’s most active this year. It asked whether Zelenskyy would be “photographed or videotaped wearing a suit” between March 22 and June 30.
A decentralized oracle system operated by UMA was responsible for adjudicating the outcome, which relied on a “consensus of credible reporting.”

Polymarket to Serve as Official Prediction Market of Elon Musk’s X
X has unveiled a real-time tool that dissects market-moving news in partnership with Polymarket, a crypto-native prediction markets platform, the companies said Friday in a joint statement. Launched on Friday, the tool will offer live insights into events that influence markets, combining data from X and predictions from Polymarket. In addition, the product will leverage xAI’s chatbot Grok and relevant X posts to provide real-time explanations of market moves. Combining those various technolo...
On June 24, Zelenskyy appeared at a NATO event in the Netherlands wearing a black jacket, matching trousers, and a collared shirt, an outfit described by numerous media outlets as a suit.
Yet on July 1, UMA’s oracle ruled that the reporting consensus had not been sufficiently established and finalized the outcome as “No.”
The decision prompted accusations of inconsistency, with critics citing prior media reports and visual evidence. Others argued the rejection of “Yes” was based on precedent from a similar market in May, where a nearly identical outfit was also deemed insufficient to meet the criteria.
A live broadcast by controversial figure Martin Shkreli on July 1 added fuel to the controversy, calling the resolution process a “scam” and claiming he would raise concerns with one of Polymarket’s major investors.
The controversy even generated interest among punters across rival predictions markets, including Myriad Markets, to take a bet on whether Polymarket would resolve its Zelenskyy outcome to either "Yes" or "No."
(Disclaimer: Myriad Markets is owned by Decrypt's parent company Dastan)

Thailand to Ban Polymarket in Online Gambling Crackdown
Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau said Tuesday it will propose a ban on Polymarket stating that the platform facilitates illegal online gambling through crypto. Thai authorities noted that the decentralized prediction marketplace’s operations fall under illegal online gambling, which is prohibited in the country. Suspending Polymarket is vital to protect against online gambling and crypto misuse as it poses significant “economic and social risks,” stated Technology Crime Suppression Di...
That same day, community proposals urging Polymarket to reassess the decision or form an integrity team were formally rejected, despite each receiving hundreds of upvotes.
More than 40 global media headlines referring to the outfit as a suit have since been compiled by users advocating for a review of the decision.
Several prominent crypto commentators, journalists, and protocol contributors have publicly questioned the integrity of the ruling, noting the potential for token-rich stakeholders to influence UMA outcomes through majority vote rather than unique consensus.
Polymarket has not indicated plans to revisit the decision. The platform did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.