Kamala Harris’ Choice of Minnesota Governor as Running Mate Disrupts Millions in Polymarket Crypto Bets

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Kamala Harris’ decision to choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate significantly upended several millions of dollars worth of bets. The surprise decision at the time disappointed users on crypto prediction market platform Polymarket, who were hoping the choice would be Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Many voters are looking to the presidential candidates’ crypto stances as the election draws nearer. Considering activity on Polymarket, crypto enthusiasts have added a political outlook to the sector, in addition to its basic functionality. Today, many people invest in crypto by searching for the best crypto to buy now based on their long-term value, recognition, security, and functionality among the competition. These people are likely to scrutinize the candidates’ stances on cryptocurrency, which could heavily sway their voting decisions.

The week before Walz’s confirmation, Shapiro was the favored candidate on the platform, with odds above 60%. Interestingly, Walz’s odds were at a low of 4% only a few days before the announcement. However, these odds eventually increased to about 30% after reports that Harris had narrowed her choice to Walz and Shapiro.

Walz’s odds spiked from 37% to 73% after an X post noted an unusual “flurry of activity” and a “fleet of vehicles” at Walz’s residence. Less than fifteen minutes after the post, the comment section on Polymarket’s VP bet saw increased activity, which spiked Walz’s chance. On the other hand, Shapiro’s odds eventually plummeted but stayed above 30% as Walz’s rose.

At the time, Polymarket users had a total of $125 million in various bets on who Harris would eventually choose to join her against former President Donald Trump and Sen JD Vance.

Reactions to Harris’ choice resonated in the crypto market and on the Polymarket platform. About a week before, a “Tem Walz” (WALZ) cryptocurrency meme coin had launched on the Solana blockchain, joining many political meme coins trading in the sector. The token, a deliberate misspelling of the Governor’s name, spiked significantly and hit a market capitalization of nearly $1 million. Unfortunately, the jump did not last, as the market cap eventually fell to $254,000.

A meme coin is a cryptocurrency token loosely based on a popular person, cultural event, internet joke or other humorous element. These cryptocurrencies are different from popular assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as they are usually not built with any utility in mind. Meme coins leverage the popularity of an event or person and usually have a large and robust community with numerous members.

Another Walz-inspired meme coin Tim Walz (WALZ), this time on the Ethereum blockchain, pumped more than 208% and hit a market cap of $707,000 after the announcement. As expected, this meme coin also crashed, losing more than 57% to $303,000.

Following the announcement, a meme coin inspired by Shapiro crashed terribly. “Josh Shapero” (SHAPERO), also intentionally misspelled, plunged 94% in less than 30 minutes after the news. SHAPERO’s market capitalization fell from $726,000 all the way to $11,000.

Several meme coins inspired by Donald Trump have lately enjoyed some action since the former President began speaking in support of the crypto sector. Recently, Donald Trump Jr. promoted an upcoming crypto platform called “The DeFiant Ones” following an earlier endorsement by Trump. After the post, meme coins MAGA (TRUMP), Super Trump (STRUMP), and Trump Mania (TMANIA), all rose, climbing 20%, 10%, and 8%, respectively.

According to crypto data platform CoinGecko, the TRUMP coin has risen more than 37% in the last 7 days, with MAGA Hat (MAGA), another meme coin, climbing 29% in the same period. Other Trump-inspired tokens, including Fight to MAGA (FIGHT) and BABYTRUMP (BABYTRUMP), have jumped 24.3% and 24.4%.

On the other hand, a Kamala Harris meme coin, Kamala Horris (KAMA), has lost 53.2%, while Jeo Boden (BODEN), inspired by President Joe Biden, lost 35.5%.

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