Josh Andrews

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin Among Cryptos Affected by Polymarket TWAP Change

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Hyperliquid, BNB and Dogecoin are among the cryptocurrencies affected by Polymarket’s recent decision to change how it settles certain timed prediction markets, replacing a single final price with a time-weighted average price, or TWAP.

The change covers five-minute, 15-minute, and one-hour up-and-down contracts and comes as cryptocurrency becomes a much larger part of prediction market activity. Digital currency volume across all-or-nothing prediction exchanges reportedly increased significantly, fueled in part by the popularity of short-term contracts that let users speculate on price movements over minutes or hours.

Polymarket is allocating $1 million in liquidity across the affected markets as the new settlement methodology is introduced.

Growing Crypto Markets Bring New Integrity Concerns

Rapid settlement has helped make crypto prediction markets attractive, but it has also raised questions about whether short-term contracts can be influenced by sophisticated traders immediately before expiration.

Research from Stanford University and Singapore Management University recently highlighted those concerns after examining roughly 16,000 five-minute Bitcoin contracts on Polymarket. They identified repeated increases in buying and selling activity on Binance shortly before contracts expired and estimated that approximately $8.2 million moved from retail traders to professional, technology-backed trading platforms during the two months studied.

Five-minute contracts appeared particularly vulnerable, while the researchers found less evidence of similar activity in 15-minute and 60-minute markets. The academics pointed to TWAP as one possible way to make such strategies less effective.

That difference could be significant. A trader attempting to influence a contract in the final seconds of a five-minute window would have less ability to change the settlement outcome if the price is determined using data collected throughout the period.

Betting on a Fairer Crypto Market

Polymarket’s move is therefore more than a technical update. Growing crypto volumes give the operator a stronger reason to reassure retail traders that increasingly popular short-term contracts cannot be easily manipulated by participants with more sophisticated trading tools.

The effectiveness of the new settlement approach will ultimately depend on whether it can reduce the impact of last-second price movements without making the products less attractive to traders. If TWAP delivers that balance, Polymarket’s approach could provide a template for other prediction market operators dealing with the same combination of rapid crypto trading, growing retail participation and concerns over market integrity.

Crypto.com Gains Bigger Role in FanDuel’s US Sports Prediction Push

The relationship between crypto and US gambling is becoming harder to separate, and FanDuel’s latest prediction market move is another example of the two industries converging.

FanDuel is shifting its sports and novelty event contracts to Crypto.com’s prediction market platform, giving the crypto exchange a much larger role in the sportsbook operator’s emerging prediction market business. The move comes just weeks after the companies announced their initial partnership and arrives at an important point in the US sports calendar, with the NFL season approaching.

The strategy also creates an interesting shift in FanDuel’s relationship with CME Group, which will retain the financial side of FanDuel Predicts, while Crypto.com takes over sports-focused contracts.

A New Frontier

Flutter Entertainment revealed the change during its second quarter earnings call on August 5. Outgoing CEO Peter Jackson said FanDuel Predicts would move its sports event contracts to Crypto.com “in coordination with CME,” allowing the operator to bring new products to market more quickly.

That speed could be particularly valuable heading into football season. Sports prediction markets are competing for attention from many of the same customers who traditionally use sportsbooks, while FanDuel already has a huge nationwide audience that can be introduced to event contracts through its existing platform.

The arrangement builds on the companies’ June partnership involving Crypto.com’s OG Prediction Markets. Sports and entertainment contracts will now sit within that relationship, along with combination markets that effectively bring a parlay-style approach to prediction trading. FanDuel is not abandoning CME altogether. Contracts tied to financial markets, including major equity indexes, are expected to remain on CME’s platform.

Why CME and Sports Contracts Are Moving Apart

The split raises a question surrounding the rapidly developing prediction market sector: where do sports event contracts actually fit within the financial markets ecosystem?

CME and FanDuel initially announced their partnership nearly a year ago, focusing heavily on economic and financial contracts. FanDuel’s subsequent expansion into sports created a more complicated dynamic, particularly because sports event contracts have become the most visible and controversial part of the prediction market boom.

CME CEO Terry Duffy recently characterized sports event contracts as gambling and suggested the issue could eventually reach the Supreme Court. CME then announced a separate partnership with FutureSports involving indexes based on athlete and team performance, potentially giving the exchange another route into sports-related derivatives.

FanDuel’s move toward Crypto.com consequently looks significant. It allows the sportsbook to keep its financial market activity tied to CME while placing its sports prediction products with a partner that is already deeply embedded in the crypto and digital asset ecosystem.

Prediction Markets’ Revenue Potential

FanDuel’s ambitions also extend beyond simply selling contracts to bettors. Flutter believes the company can become a major liquidity provider for the prediction market industry, using its existing sports trading expertise to facilitate combination markets across different platforms.

Jackson said FanDuel expects the operation to produce around $50 million in revenue during 2026. That would represent a meaningful opportunity from a business that is still relatively young.

The model could become particularly attractive if sports prediction markets continue gaining traction in the US. FanDuel brings the customer base and sports expertise, while Crypto.com brings a major connection to the cryptocurrency trading world and the infrastructure surrounding digital asset users.

That combination could put FanDuel in a strong position as prediction markets attempt to establish themselves alongside traditional sportsbooks. It also puts greater attention on the unresolved regulatory question. The more sports contracts resemble conventional wagers, the more pressure regulators and courts may face to determine whether they belong under gambling laws, derivatives regulation, or some combination of the two.

A Refresher on How Smart Crypto Gamblers Stay One Step Ahead in 2026

The crypto gambling market has matured rapidly, and so have the people trying to exploit it. What was once a landscape of clumsy phishing attempts and obvious fake casinos has evolved into something considerably more sophisticated.

AI-generated platforms now replicate legitimate casinos with near-perfect accuracy. Deepfake videos featuring recognizable public figures promote fraudulent sites with enough production quality to deceive experienced players. Wallet-draining attacks have become a specific and growing threat, with malicious smart contracts sitting behind what appear to be routine bonus claim processes.

Admittedly, traditional phishing has declined. But crypto-specific scams targeting bonus-driven behavior have filled that space and then some. For anyone placing bets with digital assets in 2026, the risk environment demands a more deliberate approach than it did even two years ago.

Getting Started Safely

The most effective risk management tool available to crypto gamblers costs nothing: no-deposit bonuses. Many legitimate platforms offer free spins and entry bonuses that allow players to move through the full casino experience, including withdrawals, before committing real funds. That last point matters more than the bonus itself.

The goal during any trial period is not to accumulate free value. It is to confirm that withdrawals process as described, that customer support responds within a reasonable timeframe, and that games perform consistently.

Following that initial test, starting with a small deposit and running a withdrawal before scaling up is a straightforward habit that filters out a significant share of problematic platforms before any serious capital is at risk.

Know What a Red Flag Actually Looks Like

Fake or absent licensing is the most obvious warning sign, but it is rarely the only one. Bonus structures that seem disconnected from any sustainable business model, withdrawal processes that require additional deposits to proceed, and platforms with no provably fair verification in place all warrant serious caution.

Provably fair technology exists precisely to address one of the core concerns in online gambling. That is, whether outcomes are being manipulated. Platforms that offer it allow players to verify game results independently. Those that do not are asking for a level of trust that the crypto space has repeatedly shown is unwise to extend without evidence.

Community sources remain useful for assessing withdrawal reliability in particular. Patterns of complaints around payouts tend to surface quickly in those environments and are worth checking before registering anywhere new. Entering URLs manually rather than following social media links removes one of the more common chances of landing on a convincing fake.

Responsible Gaming as a Safeguard

The smartest structural protection a crypto gambler can put in place is a dedicated wallet funded only with what they can afford to lose. Connecting a primary wallet to an unfamiliar platform introduces risk that no amount of due diligence fully eliminates.

Setting a budget and a time limit before a session begins, and holding to both regardless of how a session is going, keeps gambling in the category it belongs in. The platforms worth using will still be there tomorrow. Urgency in gambling, whether manufactured by a countdown timer or a limited bonus window, is a pressure tactic rather than a reason to move faster than is comfortable.

Bitcoin 5-Minute Betting Markets Surge on Polymarket

Bitcoin gambling is now entering a faster phase, with ultra-short betting markets turning price speculation into near-instant outcomes. On Polymarket, users are now wagering on where Bitcoin will move within five or 15 minutes, creating a format that closely mirrors high-speed trading.

The concept builds on a broader trend in financial markets, where trading timelines have steadily shortened from months to days and hours. Crypto users are pushing that even further, with contracts that settle in minutes and allow players to immediately place new bets once a round ends.

The Fast Growth Explained

These short-term contracts have quickly become one of the busiest areas on Polymarket. Data from Dune Analytics shows that five-minute Bitcoin markets have generated up to $60 million in daily volume within weeks of launch. That activity significantly exceeds longer-duration crypto prediction markets on the same platform, which often see less than $1 million per day. While still small compared to major exchanges handling tens of billions in trades, the growth highlights strong demand for faster-paced betting formats.

The appeal of these markets lies in constant action and rapid resolution. Instead of waiting for end-of-day results, players can cycle through multiple bets in a short period, tracking price movements in real time. This structure also attracts automated trading systems, with both retail users and professional participants deploying bots to react instantly to price changes. In practice, that means manual bettors are often competing against algorithms operating at high speed.

Market participants note that shorter contracts tend to amplify volatility, creating sharp price swings within narrow timeframes. That dynamic is drawing in users who are comfortable with rapid decision-making and high-risk, high-frequency betting.

Is It Trading, Hedging or Gambling?

Beyond pure speculation, some traders use these short-term markets as a way to hedge positions held elsewhere in crypto. Quick resolution times can reduce the cost and exposure associated with longer-duration trades.

At the same time, the format continues to blur the line between trading and gambling. The combination of instant outcomes, continuous betting cycles, and price-driven results closely aligns with behavior observed in Bitcoin casino sites. Currently, Polymarket sources pricing data from multiple exchanges, with major platforms like Binance playing a key role in shaping market prices. As betting windows shrink, even small timing advantages can influence outcomes.

New CoinPoker App Launch Brings Rake-Free Poker and Expanded Game Formats

Crypto poker platform CoinPoker has launched a new desktop client and mobile app as part of a broader platform upgrade this month. The rollout introduces updated gameplay features, additional poker formats, and a month-long promotion that effectively removes rake from games across the platform.

This update represents a major refresh of the site’s software ecosystem, with redesigned interfaces for desktop and mobile users and a series of promotional incentives to attract new and returning players.

More on the Rake-Free Poker Promotion

To highlight the new software, CoinPoker is running rake-free poker games throughout March. During this period, players receive the value of all cash game rake and tournament fees back through a combination of daily rewards and promotional prize pools.

During the first half of the month, players can earn up to 100 percent rakeback credited directly to their accounts each day. The second half of the promotion distributes the equivalent value through Splash Pot cash drops, CoinRaces leaderboards, and additional tournament funding.

The promotion effectively allows players to participate in games while recovering their fees through rewards and bonuses, helping generate traffic during the rollout of the new platform.

The New Poker Formats and Software Features

The updated client introduces several new gameplay options alongside improvements to existing poker formats. New additions include PLO6 tables, Bomb Pot games, and All-in or Fold formats, expanding the platform’s selection beyond traditional No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha variants.

A new tournament schedule also debuts alongside the software upgrade. The Level Up tournament series introduces multi-day events featuring mechanics such as bubble protection, blind rollbacks at final tables, and flexible deal-making options.

CoinPoker has also integrated new tools directly into the client. Player statistics from PokerIntel are now built into the interface, while additional features include EV cashout options and expanded table interactions designed to improve the in-game experience.

Ambassador Team Expands with New Poker Names

Alongside the software launch, CoinPoker has also expanded its ambassador roster with several new additions. United States poker professional and content creator Abigail Merk, widely known online as “Abby Poker,” has joined the team. Based in Chicago, Merk is known for her poker education content and community work supporting new players entering the game.

Argentinian poker professional and freestyle rapper Alejandro Lococo, better known as “Papo MC,” has also signed with the platform. Lococo has earned more than $15 million in live tournament winnings and captured a bracelet at the World Series of Poker. They join an existing lineup that includes Mario Mosböck, a three-time champion on the Triton Poker Series, and Benjamin Rolle, widely known online as “Bencb.”

Other poker personalities, including Jean-Robert Bellande and Faraz Jaka, have also recently partnered with the platform as CoinPoker continues building its presence in the global online poker market.

Winna Expands Bitcoin Casino Lineup with Plinko and Mines

Winna, a popular platform for crypto gamers, has expanded its Winna Originals catalogue with titles built specifically for fast sessions and clear probability structures. Two games drawing attention among bitcoin casino users are Plinko and Mines, each offering a different style of quick decision gameplay while maintaining the same crypto-focused foundation.

Plinko’s Adjustable Volatility

Plinko stands out because of its simple gravity-driven mechanics. A ball is released from the top of a pegged board and bounces unpredictably as it descends before landing in a multiplier slot along the bottom row. Each drop produces a new result within seconds.

The version available through Winna Originals focuses on maintaining momentum during gameplay. Rounds resolve quickly and players can trigger multiple drops back-to-back without navigating complex bonus features or layered mechanics.

Risk settings influence how volatile each session becomes. Lower configurations typically create steadier outcomes with smaller multipliers, while higher settings expand payout potential but introduce greater volatility. Players who manage bankroll strategy often use these controls to shape the rhythm of a session.

Short gameplay loops have become especially popular in bitcoin casinos, where players frequently engage in rapid rounds rather than longer traditional slot cycles.

Mines’ Strategy-First Proposition

Alongside Plinko, the grid-based Mines game has become another central part of the Winna Originals lineup. Each round begins with a board of hidden tiles containing both safe spaces and concealed mines. Players reveal tiles one by one, increasing the multiplier after every successful selection. Hitting a mine ends the round instantly, while choosing to cash out at the right moment secures accumulated winnings.

Decision-making drives the experience. A cautious approach might involve revealing only a few tiles before exiting the round, while more aggressive play pushes deeper into the grid in pursuit of larger multipliers.

Fast round completion keeps engagement levels high. Multiple decisions can occur within a short session, a pacing style that aligns well with how many bitcoin casino players interact with crypto gaming platforms.

Fast Decision Games Continue to Gain Momentum

The popularity of games like Plinko and Mines reflects a wider shift in online casino design. Modern crypto gamers increasingly gravitate toward formats that combine immediate feedback, adjustable risk, and straightforward probability models.

Short gameplay cycles allow users to stay engaged during quick sessions while maintaining control over how much risk they take in each round. Transparent verification tools and cryptocurrency payments further strengthen the appeal for bitcoin-focused audiences.

Winna’s continued development of its Originals catalogue suggests that these design priorities are becoming standard across the crypto casino sector as platforms compete to meet the expectations of digital-first gambling communities.

Vyking Enables Full Crypto Casino Experiences Across Its Operator Network

The rapid growth of cryptocurrency gaming is reshaping how online casino platforms approach payments, player wallets, and gameplay mechanics. Operators are increasingly looking for ways to introduce digital asset support without rebuilding their entire technology stack. Responding to that demand, Vyking has launched a new crypto casino capability that allows operators to deliver full cryptocurrency gaming experiences across its Core, Edge, and Flex platform tiers through a simple platform configuration.

The release allows players to deposit, hold balances, and play using leading cryptocurrencies while maintaining access to traditional fiat gameplay within the same player account. Instead of separating crypto and fiat ecosystems, the platform enables both to coexist within a single gaming environment.

Many casino platforms support cryptocurrency deposits, but keep the rest of the gaming environment tied to fiat currency. That approach often limits how players interact with crypto once funds enter the system.

Vyking’s solution introduces cryptocurrency support throughout the gameplay framework, allowing crypto balances to function across bonuses, rebates, accounting systems, and gameplay logic. The goal is to allow operators to offer what the company describes as a fully native crypto casino experience rather than a payment-layer workaround.

Players can move seamlessly between crypto and fiat gameplay inside the same account while still accessing the platform’s full portfolio of casino games.

Multi-Currency Wallets Powered by K1ngPay

The new capability is powered by K1ngPay, Vyking’s in-house cryptocurrency payment infrastructure. It allows operators to manage crypto wallets while enabling players to maintain multiple balances across both cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies at the same time. At the point of play, players select their preferred currency while the system manages transparent conversions so that the entire game portfolio remains accessible regardless of native currency.

This structure helps simplify one of the key challenges of crypto-enabled gaming platforms: balancing user flexibility with operational control and accounting clarity.

No Replatforming Needed

A major focus of the launch is ease of adoption for existing operators. Current Vyking clients can activate the crypto casino feature through a standard platform configuration update rather than a full system migration. New operators joining the platform can launch with both fiat and cryptocurrency gaming capabilities from day one.

The company has also confirmed that enabling crypto functionality does not introduce additional platform fees or require changes to commercial agreements. This lowers the barrier for operators that want to experiment with crypto gaming while maintaining their current business model.

A 2026 Refresher on Using Insurance Bets in Bitcoin Blackjack

Bitcoin casinos have grown rapidly in the past decade, offering faster transactions, lower fees, and privacy advantages. Players now have access to hundreds of blackjack variations, from single-deck to multi-deck tables, all with provably fair systems. Among the strategic tools available, insurance bets are often misunderstood.

Insurance bets are side wagers placed when the dealer’s upcard is an Ace. The bet predicts that the dealer’s hidden card is a ten, resulting in a blackjack. If the dealer does hit blackjack, the insurance pays 2:1, covering your main bet loss. The bet costs half of your original wager and is entirely separate from the main hand. While it might seem like a safety net, the mathematics often work against the player over time.

How Insurance Bets Work

The dealer has roughly a 30% chance of getting blackjack when showing an Ace in a standard multi-deck shoe, which is common in most crypto casinos. Because the insurance payout only compensates fully if the probability exceeds 33.3%, the bet generally favors the house. With one-deck games, the odds are slightly better, but most Bitcoin blackjack tables use multiple decks, making insurance less advantageous.

Using insurance effectively requires understanding the odds and adjusting your strategy. Some advanced players track card composition to identify moments when insurance might pay off, but for the average player, it remains a high-risk side bet. Crypto transactions do not alter these odds but offer benefits like instant deposits, anonymous play, and provably fair game verification, making it easier to experiment and refine your strategy.

The Good… and the Bad

Insurance bets offer both advantages and drawbacks. On the positive side, they protect your main wager if the dealer hits blackjack and pay out at 2:1. They can be useful in high-stakes or risk-managed sessions where preserving the bankroll is a priority.

The downside is that placing insurance increases your total exposure, since the bet costs half your main wager, and the expected value over time is negative. Over multiple hands, the house edge ensures the casino retains an advantage, even in Bitcoin tables. Most experts suggest skipping insurance unless you have a strong reason, such as advanced deck-counting insight or strategic experimentation.

Smart Strategies for Bitcoin Blackjack in 2026

If you are a crypto gamer, the key is to focus on probability, bankroll management, and responsible play. Skip insurance bets unless you fully understand the risks, and concentrate on strategies like hitting, standing, doubling down, and splitting when optimal.

Bitcoin casinos now host hundreds of blackjack variants, giving players opportunities to explore strategies in low-risk environments. Digital currency enhances the experience, but it does not affect the mathematical foundations of blackjack.

Ultimately, understanding insurance bets, their limitations, and how they fit into an overall strategy allows Bitcoin players to maximize enjoyment and control over their online blackjack sessions in 2026.

Tether’s Record Asset Freeze and the Growing Regulation in Crypto Finance

It has been a long-time coming, but crypto finance is maturing. Large issuers are becoming more deeply connected to global rules, and the rails that move digital dollars around the world are now firmly on regulators’ radar. A glaring showcase of this was when Tether froze more than $500 million in USDT connected to a suspected betting and money-laundering network in Turkey, in one of the largest asset freezes the crypto sector has seen.

CEO Paolo Ardoino said the action followed direct outreach from law enforcement. Tether reviewed the information, determined it fell within legal requirements, and moved to block the funds. The case adds to a growing list of interventions by the stablecoin giant, which says it has frozen more than $3 billion in assets over similar issues.

Dealing with the Inevitability of Regulatory Attention

USDT has become a core tool for moving money across crypto platforms because it is fast, dollar-pegged, and widely accepted. That combination makes it useful for everything from trading to funding accounts on digital platforms that operate outside traditional banking hours. But the same features that make stablecoins convenient also attract regulatory attention when funds flow through high-risk channels.

This latest freeze shows how much the landscape has shifted. Crypto was once framed as beyond the reach of traditional financial controls, yet major issuers like Tether now work closely with global authorities and can shut down large pools of funds when required. For everyday users, that is a reminder that stablecoins may run on blockchains, but the companies behind them still operate within legal systems.

With more than $187 billion USDT in circulation, Tether sits at the center of crypto liquidity. When it acts, markets notice. Enforcement actions of this size highlight both the scale of stablecoin adoption and the increasing pressure on major players to monitor how their tokens move.

Record Profits Regardless

While tightening cooperation with regulators, Tether is also expanding aggressively. The company reported around $10 billion in profit in 2025 and has been channeling that capital into a wider mix of assets and industries.

Recent investments include $150 million into Gold.com and a $100 million stake in Anchorage Digital, a federally regulated US digital asset bank. It is also funding Bitcoin mining operations and backing projects in areas like decentralized communications and artificial intelligence.

The strategy points to a company that is no longer just issuing a stablecoin but building a broad digital asset empire. As Tether’s reach grows, so does its influence over the infrastructure that underpins much of the crypto economy. While it gets crypto into the hands of more people, including online gamblers, there is still concern about whether it will fall back to what crypto gamblers were avoiding in the first place.

Crypto Casino Monkey Tilt Raises $51M and Rethinks Gambling Marketing

Fast-rising crypto gambling operator Monkey Tilt is taking an unconventional route in the bitcoin gambling space, building its name through culture and spectacle as much as through gameplay. Since launching just a little over a year ago, the crypto-first casino has been rolling out a brand strategy that looks more like a media and lifestyle play than a traditional online gambling expansion.

Turning a Crypto Casino into a Culture Brand

Backed by $51 million in funding, including investment from Pantera Capital, Monkey Tilt has made it clear that it is not chasing growth through standard casino marketing alone. The company is aiming at bitcoin gaming, entertainment, and youth culture to become a recognizable lifestyle brand rather than just another wagering platform.

The unique outlook shapes everything from its partnerships to its live appearances, helping it stand out in a fast-growing but increasingly crowded crypto gambling market. But that is not all that it has going for it.

One of Monkey Tilt’s earliest strategic moves was aligning with PokerGO, the dominant poker streaming platform. PokerGO not only joined the company’s funding round but also connected the brand to a global network of professional players, tournaments, and avid poker fans.

That relationship places Monkey Tilt directly in front of a serious poker audience, a natural overlap with bitcoin gamblers who are often drawn to skill-based, high-stakes formats. Instead of relying purely on digital ads, the company embedded itself within an established poker ecosystem that already commands loyalty and international reach.

Bitcoin Gaming Hits the Road

While many crypto casinos live entirely online, Monkey Tilt pushed into the physical world through a high-profile collaboration with West Coast Customs. The partnership produced the “Tilt Truck,” a custom-built mobile casino and entertainment vehicle designed to grab attention well beyond typical gambling channels.

The truck made its public debut during Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans as part of an activation alongside Complex, a major youth culture media brand. Visitors stepped inside to explore the space and try a headline-grabbing vault challenge that teased a $1 million prize. No one walked away with the top reward, but the event generated buzz, social coverage, and a strong visual identity tied to the Monkey Tilt name. Undeniably, it might just work for the company and other operators who might try out the approach.