Polymarket Halts International Trading for About an Hour After Third-Party Security Breach
Photo: NBC NewsPolymarket halted trading on its international platform for about an hour on Thursday after a security incident compromised a third-party provider, the company said, and reports put the money taken from user wallets at roughly $2.65 million. Polymarket said it fixed the issue, resumed trading around 3 p.m. ET, referred the matter to law enforcement in the United Kingdom, and is fully reimbursing affected traders. A person familiar with the matter said the breach came through DebugBear, a UK-based website performance tool. DebugBear said on X that it had an ongoing security incident and told clients using one product to remove its embed code. The Block, citing Arkham data, reported $2.65 million siphoned. Analytics firms Betting Intelligence and Polysights told CNBC that an account withdrew at least $2.7 million across 710 wallets. Polymarket declined to comment on the figure, and it was unclear how many users were affected. Its U.S. platform was not compromised.
Left-leaning outlets NBC News and The Guardian frame it as a trading halt tied to a vendor compromise. NBC adds unconfirmed Discord reports of drained wallets, the Arkham-based figure and an anonymous source. The Guardian gives no dollar amount and stresses Polymarket's "abundance of caution" and uncertainty over the impact. The right-leaning Washington Examiner puts $2.65 million taken "in minutes" in its headline. It adds that more than $2.5 million moved in over 900 transactions, cites the Wall Street Journal on DebugBear, and says U.S. users were unaffected. The Washington Times runs only the short wire text. Both sides agree on the company's reimbursement pledge and UK referral. CNBC differs by noting the platform is decentralized, runs on Polygon and is unregulated in the U.S.
How the sides differ Left sources stress the pause and uncertainty over how many users were affected; right sources lead with the $2.65 million figure and transaction counts; alternative sources add regulatory context.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
- The GuardianPolymarket temporarily suspends trading on international platform due to security incident
NBC News leads with the halt, unconfirmed user reports of drained wallets, the Arkham-based loss figure and an anonymous source. The Guardian stresses Polymarket's precaution and reimbursement pledge, and the unclear scale of the impact.
CNBC reports that some users' funds were stolen, citing analytics firms' figure of at least $2.7 million across 710 wallets, and adds regulatory context. AP carries a short wire account of the halt and the reimbursement pledge.
- Washington TimesPaywallPolymarket paused international trading after a security issue involving a third-party provider
The Washington Examiner leads with $2.65 million taken in minutes, adding transaction counts, timing and a Wall Street Journal attribution to DebugBear. The Washington Times runs the brief wire version.