Polymarket faces user outrage over TikTok ban resolution

Polymarket is facing significant backlash after resolving a prediction market about the potential ban of TikTok in the United States to "Yes."

This decision, made on January 20, followed the U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of a law banning the Chinese-owned app due to national security concerns.

The market, titled “TikTok banned in the US before May 2025?” had generated $120 million in trading volume.

On January 19, TikTok had briefly gone offline, which many interpreted as confirmation of the ban.

However, just a day later, TikTok announced it would remain accessible for an additional 75 days due to an intervention by President Donald Trump, who halted the ban to negotiate with ByteDance.

This led to confusion among Polymarket users, many of whom argued that TikTok was not effectively banned since it remained operational for most Americans.

“The ban didn’t happen, and TikTok is working fine for most Americans,” one user expressed frustration.

In contrast, another user defended Polymarket's resolution by pointing out that a law banning TikTok had indeed taken effect.

Amid the controversy, some users labeled the platform a “scam” and called for accountability regarding alleged manipulation in the market resolution.

Polymarket's dispute resolution process relies on UMA’s Optimistic Oracle (OO) for initial outcomes, which can escalate to UMA’s Data Verification Mechanism (DVM) if contested.

In this instance, the DVM process was bypassed, leading to accusations of bias and manipulation.

This is not the first time Polymarket has faced criticism; previous disputes have also raised questions about its resolution processes.

Currently, Polymarket is reportedly seeking $50 million in funding to enhance its operations and plans to introduce tokens that would allow users to validate outcomes more transparently.