How to Use Polymarket in 2026: From First Visit to First Trade
A step-by-step guide to using Polymarket in 2026: eligibility by region, the global and US platforms, funding, limit versus market orders, and cashing out.
The Short Answer
Using Polymarket takes four steps: confirm your country is eligible, pick your platform (the global crypto-based site or the CFTC-regulated Polymarket US), fund your account, and buy Yes or No shares. Prices run from 1 to 99 cents; each share pays $1 if you are right and nothing if you are wrong. Resting limit orders trade free on the global platform; market orders pay a taker fee in most categories. Winnings redeem to your balance (automatic with Auto-Redeem) and withdraw to your wallet or bank.
Here is how to use Polymarket in 2026, from first visit to first trade: eligibility, the two versions of the platform, funding, orders, and getting money back out. Polymarket is a prediction market: you trade shares in real-world outcomes and the price doubles as a probability (see Polymarket vs Kalshi for the comparison). Autocomplete for this topic is a list of countries for a reason: where you live decides which Polymarket you can use, or whether you can use it at all, so eligibility comes first.
Key Takeaways
- The global platform restricts the US, the UK and 30+ other jurisdictions to close-only; the separate Polymarket US exchange serves most, but not all, US states.
- Global deposits auto-convert to pUSD, the app is gasless, and resting limit orders trade free while market orders pay taker fees in most categories.
- There are no official Polymarket promo codes at the time of writing. The honest discount is placing limit orders instead of market orders.
Check Your Eligibility First
The fastest way to waste an afternoon is signing up before checking whether your country is allowed. The restricted-jurisdictions list has grown past 30 entries and reaches further than most people expect: alongside the UK, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand it covers France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Australia and Brazil at the time of writing. US residents are blocked too, a condition of Polymarket's 2022 CFTC settlement, though they now have an exchange of their own (next section).
The label is softer than it sounds. Polymarket's geoblock documentation describes most restricted jurisdictions as close-only: an existing position can be closed, but a new one cannot be opened. Canada is handled province by province rather than nationally, and Ireland, Japan and the Netherlands sit in a third bucket where the website is limited but API access stays open. The live list is published at docs.polymarket.com/api-reference/geoblock, and it moves.
Do not reach for a VPN. It violates the Terms of Service, Polymarket detects it, and what you risk is a frozen account with your funds stuck inside. For the region-by-region picture, see our guide to whether Polymarket is legal where you live.
The Two Front Doors: Global Platform vs Polymarket US
Polymarket in 2026 is really two products: the global platform on crypto rails serving most of the world, and Polymarket US, a separate CFTC-regulated exchange built on the QCX license Polymarket acquired in 2025, waitlist-free since May 2026.
| Polymarket (global) | Polymarket US | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can join | Countries not on the restricted list | Most US states, with exceptions |
| Regulation | Offshore, crypto rails | CFTC-regulated exchange |
| Sign-up | Email or crypto wallet | Full KYC identity check |
| Deposits | Crypto, auto-converted to pUSD | USD: ACH, debit card, Apple Pay |
| Trading fees | Taker fees in most categories; makers free | Its own separate schedule |
The US state map is unsettled: Tennessee and Connecticut issued cease-and-desist orders, and a Minnesota law criminalising the operation and advertising of prediction markets took effect on 1 August 2026. The CFTC has pushed back in court, suing New Mexico on 12 June 2026 and Kentucky on 23 June 2026 on the argument that event contracts are federal turf. Check availability inside the app and expect it to keep moving.
Funding Your Account
On the global platform, whatever you deposit auto-converts to pUSD, a dollar token backed 1:1 by USDC. Your deposit address is specific to the network you send on, and Polymarket documents chains beyond Polygon, including Solana and Bitcoin, each with its own minimum. Send to the wrong chain and the money is simply gone. Day to day the app is gasless: a relayer pays the blockchain gas for you. Gas matters only for API traders using their own wallets and for moving funds on and off the platform.
Polymarket US is plainer: dollars in by bank transfer (ACH), debit card or Apple Pay. Cards land instantly and ACH takes a few business days at the time of writing; the app's funding section carries the current limits.
How to Use Polymarket to Place Your First Trade
Open a market and read three things before touching the buy button: the price, the order book, and the resolution rules. Price in cents equals implied probability in percent, so Yes at 34 cents means roughly a 34 percent chance. Contracts settle at $1.00 or $0, and the resolution rules define exactly what counts as Yes; that fine print is where beginners get burned.
Your order type decides your fees. A market order fills instantly against the book, making you the taker; since early 2026 most global categories charge takers a fee, and the rate depends on the category, with crypto the priciest and politics cheaper. Geopolitics and world events are still fee-free at the time of writing. The charge peaks near 50 cents and tapers toward both ends, so a 30 cent trade and a 70 cent trade cost the same. A limit order that rests in the book makes you the maker, and makers pay nothing in any category and collect a rebate on top. Rates shift, so treat Polymarket's own fee page as the source of truth; the formula, the per-category rates, and Polymarket US's separate schedule are broken down in our Polymarket fees guide.
Redeeming Winnings and Cashing Out
When a market resolves your way, each winning share redeems for $1; on the global platform the Auto-Redeem setting does this for you. You can also sell before resolution at the current price to lock in gains or cut losses early. Withdrawals leave the way money arrived: crypto rails on the global platform (the transfer can incur gas), bank rails on Polymarket US.
Standard caveat, sincerely meant: this is not financial, tax, or legal advice, and a wrong call takes your whole stake. Size your first trade like tuition, because that is what it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to use Polymarket in the US?
Through Polymarket US, the separate CFTC-regulated exchange that dropped its waitlist in May 2026. Expect a full KYC identity check, dollar deposits by bank transfer (ACH), debit card or Apple Pay, and a fee schedule of its own published at docs.polymarket.us/fees. It runs in most but not all states, and that map keeps moving, so check inside the app. The global platform still blocks US users.
Can I use Polymarket in the UK?
Not through the front door. The UK sits on the global platform's restricted list at the time of writing, which in Polymarket's geoblock documentation means close-only: an existing position can be closed, but a new one cannot be opened. A VPN workaround violates the Terms of Service and risks a frozen account with your funds inside.
How do I use Polymarket in India or Canada?
They are different cases. India does not appear on Polymarket's published geoblock list at the time of writing, so the ordinary route applies: sign up with an email or wallet, deposit crypto that converts to pUSD, and trade. Canada is restricted province by province rather than nationally, with British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec listed as close-only. Check docs.polymarket.com/api-reference/geoblock on the day you sign up, because that list, not a blog post, is the source of truth. Local law and taxes are your responsibility.
Can I use Polymarket in Malaysia?
Malaysia is not on Polymarket's published geoblock list at the time of writing, so everything in this guide applies. Look again on the day you sign up, because the list moves. If it ever changes, a VPN is not a workaround; it is a way to lose your balance.
Is there a Polymarket promo code?
No official ones at the time of writing, and any site advertising a Polymarket promo code is farming clicks at best and phishing at worst. The real discount is structural: rest limit orders so you trade as a maker, which on the global platform means no trading fee in any category, plus a rebate.
Conclusion
The mechanics take an evening: check eligibility, pick your platform, fund it, prefer limit orders, redeem, withdraw. Trading well takes longer. For that part, our guide to how to make money on Polymarket covers six real strategies with the failure modes attached; and if you end up watching odds across venues, that is the multi-market data problem Predictefy was built to solve.
