Polymarket quietly changes fee model for short term crypto markets

• Fees collected from takers are redistributed daily to liquidity providers in USDC.
• The highest fees apply when market odds are near 50% and fall toward zero at extremes.
• Longer-term crypto, political, and non-crypto markets remain fee-free.

Prediction market platform Polymarket has made a subtle but meaningful change to how some of its crypto markets operate.

Updated documentation on the site shows that 15-minute crypto up and down markets now carry taker fees, a break from the platform’s long-standing zero-fee trading model.

The update appeared without a formal announcement and applies only to a narrow segment of markets.

Most Polymarket markets remain fee-free, signalling a targeted structural adjustment rather than a platform-wide shift.

The change was identified through revisions to Polymarket’s Trading Fees and Maker Rebates Program documentation.

These sections now explain that taker-only fees have been enabled on short-duration crypto markets to fund liquidity incentives.

Archived versions of the documentation indicate that this language is new, suggesting the fee model was introduced recently and without public notice.

Documentation reveals new fee structure

According to the updated material, the taker fees apply solely to 15-minute crypto markets.

These are short-term contracts designed for rapid price movements, where liquidity conditions can change quickly.

The platform states that fees collected from takers are redistributed daily to liquidity providers in USDC stablecoin, rather than retained by Polymarket itself.

This redistribution mechanism positions the fee as a funding tool for market makers rather than a revenue stream for the platform.

Other markets, including longer-term crypto predictions, political markets, and non-crypto events, continue to operate without fees.

Fees tied to market odds

The documentation outlines a variable fee model based on market odds.

Fees are highest when prices are close to 50%, a range typically associated with the greatest uncertainty and trading activity. As odds move closer to 0% or 100%, the fee declines sharply toward zero.

Examples included in the documentation show how this plays out in practice.

A taker trade of 100 shares priced at $0.50 would incur a fee of about $1.56, which is slightly over 3% of the trade’s value at the peak of the curve.

Smaller trades and those placed near probability extremes face lower charges, with very small fees rounded down.

Social media reaction frames intent

The quiet rollout prompted discussion on X, where several users framed the move as a market-structure adjustment rather than a conventional fee increase.

X user 0x_opus said the change would increase protection from wash trading, arguing that the platform is not charging users in the traditional sense because the fees are redirected to liquidity providers.

Another trader, kiruwaaaaaa, described the move as being directed against high-frequency bots, saying the fee-funded rebates could incentivise tighter spreads and more consistent liquidity.

A third user, Tawer955, offered a more detailed breakdown, calling the headline effect of the change “scary, but not as bad as it sounds.”

He said the structure creates a sustainable cash flow for liquidity providers while reducing incentives for bots that previously exploited free liquidity.

Impact limited to select markets

For the majority of Polymarket users, the change is expected to have a limited impact. Only 15-minute crypto markets are affected, while the rest of the platform remains fee-free.

Even within the affected markets, the fee design reduces costs for directional trades and those placed near clear probability outcomes.

By concentrating fees around the most competitive price ranges and redistributing them to liquidity providers, Polymarket appears to be fine-tuning incentives in its fastest markets without altering the broader user experience.

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