The item of clothing of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zensky during the NATO summit in the Netherlands has become the center of a million struggle on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market. What started as a simple bet on clothing grew into a fiery discussion about definitions and interpretations. And now the reputation of polymarket is at stake.
Bet reaches millions of auction
A user on polymarket launched a market asking if Zensky would wear a suit before July. The bet requires a photo or video of him in Pak between 22 May and 30 June. So far, this market spent $ 81 million. Initially the result came out on “yes”, but this decision was challenged twice.
Kiritics speak of market manipulation. Insiders would do their best to send the outcome of the bet to ‘no’. And there is a lot at stake. According to the current odds, people who have focused on ‘yes’ could win 60 times their commitment. For example, a gambler has used more than $ 200,000 on yes, and may be able to run away with more than 10 million. In the meantime, there is still no clear confirmation that Zensky actually wore a suit. And with this the tension increases considerably.
What is a suit?
The discussion revolves around the question of whether Zensky’s outfit, consisting of a black jacket, shirt, long pants and sneakers, qualifies as a suit. Proponents point to the uniform color and formal appearance. Opponents state that the sneakers and the casual character of the jacket do not match a traditional suit.
What is important is that multiple leading news channels called the outfit a suit. The designer of the garment called it a ‘suit’, and not unimportantly, Zensky himself called it a suit. Even the Community account Polymarket Intel labeled the outfit as a suit.
At the same time, fashion journalist Derek Guy, known as the “Menswear Guy”, stated that Zensky’s outfit is “both a suit and no suit”. Chatgpt also gave input and called it a “militarily inspired field jacket”, not a traditional suit. Grok called it a suit.
Trust in polymarket under pressure
The controversy has since grown into major proportions and the reputation of the decentralized betting platform is at stake. In the meantime, a total of more than 81 million dollars has been deployed on the bet. And the way in which Polymarket will solve this dispute will have far -reaching consequences for the reputation and credibility of the platform.
Incidentally, it is not the first time that the platform gets involved in ambiguities around a bet. Earlier, the platform was criticized for technical ambiguities around a tap ban and a $ 13 million bet on ETFs. The markets are managed via the UMA protocol, which was previously accused of manipulating data.
According to Truf.network, the big problem is that markets depend on fragmented and possibly manipulable data: “It’s not about who determines the truth, but whether everyone can verify it.”
Source: https://newsbit.nl/is-dit-een-pak-de-bizarre-miljoenenstrijd-rond-zelenskys-outfit/
