Polymarket adds Spark-powered Bitcoin Lightning deposits
Polymarket activated instant Bitcoin deposits via the Lightning Network on July 7, 2026, using Spark's payment infrastructure. The integration credits user funds in under a second, replacing on-chain Bitcoin transfers that previously took 30–60 minutes. Deposits are self-custodial, with no intermediary holding user bitcoin. The move adds a crypto-native funding rail alongside existing stablecoin options.
For Polymarket, Bitcoin Lightning integration removes a core friction point that pushed crypto-native users toward on-chain or offshore alternatives. Deposit times fell from roughly an hour to under a second. That speed matters most for traders who spot mispriced markets and need capital deployed before the edge vanishes. The self-custodial design also answers a recurring complaint about centralized prediction markets: users fund accounts directly without handing bitcoin to an intermediary.
Kalshi lacks comparable crypto-native rails, so Polymarket now has a funding-speed advantage with the bitcoin-holding trader segment. The question is whether this converts to sustained volume, or merely adds another option most users ignore. Polymarket volume still settles in stablecoins; Lightning uptake in the next 60 days will show whether bitcoin deposits were a missing piece or a niche convenience.