Galaxy Research has published a report titled The Behavior of Polymarket Traders, with data compiled by Stork, based on roughly 2.9 million retail accounts on Polymarket’s international platform classified by trading frequency, according to ChainCatcher.
The report says the platform has matched 1.27 billion orders since its 2020 launch, involving 3.07 million wallets and $82.8 billion in notional value.
Most retail accounts were below break-even after high-frequency accounts were removed
The study excluded 125,429 accounts that placed more than 50 orders per active day. Those accounts made up 4.1% of all accounts, but accounted for 80.8% of orders and 41% of notional trading volume.
Galaxy Research said 69.2% of retail accounts were below break-even, with combined losses totaling $338.9 million. The median retail account lost about $3, and half of all accounts fell in a range between -$36.64 and +$0.40.
The share of traders who did not return within 30 days after a loss was 15.2%, compared with 6.1% after a profit. The excluded automated accounts posted combined profits of $246.8 million.
Position sizes and topic concentration varied across traders
The median position size for profitable traders was $13.96, versus $10 for losing traders. The report also found that 44.1% of traders concentrated more than 60% of their activity in a single topic.
Among specialized traders, sports-focused participants accounted for 47% of all specialists and had a 25.1% profitability rate, the lowest among all topics. Traders focused on technology and science posted a 41.2% profitability rate.
Report also noted taker fees on the platform
The report covers the full history of the international platform and notes that taker fees were introduced in early 2026. At a 50-cent price level, a taker in the crypto market pays $1.75 on a 100-share, $50 position, or about 3.5% of capital committed.