Polymarket is adding Time-Weighted Average Price resolution to its short-duration crypto markets. It is a sensible, overdue fix that the platform’s own users had been requesting for months while watching manipulation drain their accounts.
The TWAP integration applies specifically to 5-minute Bitcoin and crypto up/down contracts, with plans to eventually extend the mechanism to 15-minute markets. Polymarket staff confirmed the update through social media posts in mid-July 2026, roughly five months after the 5-minute contracts launched on February 12, 2026.
A $4 billion market with a $7.6 million problem
The 5-minute crypto contracts were, by any measure, a hit. They accumulated $4 billion in cumulative trading volume, which is a remarkable number for contracts that resolve faster than most people’s coffee orders.
The problem is that single-price snapshots, which is how these contracts previously resolved, are trivially easy to game near expiry. A well-capitalized trader can push a price in the final seconds of a contract, collect the payout, and leave retail participants holding the loss.
