Polymarket has enabled instant self-custodial Bitcoin deposits through the Lightning Network, using payment infrastructure from Spark.
Summary
- Spark gives Polymarket faster Bitcoin funding while keeping deposits tied to users’ own wallet keys.
- Lightning deposits reduce confirmation delays that can matter when traders enter fast-moving live prediction markets.
- The upgrade arrives as Polymarket handles larger volumes while facing closer checks from global regulators.
The update gives users a faster way to move BTC into the prediction market platform.
Spark said users can now deposit Bitcoin into Polymarket with more speed and more privacy than the older on-chain method. The company said deposits that once required on-chain confirmation wait times can now settle in seconds.
The feature follows Polymarket’s earlier move to support standard on-chain Bitcoin deposits in October 2025. Under that model, users often had to wait for several Bitcoin confirmations before funds appeared in their account.
Spark handles Lightning deposits
Spark is a Bitcoin payments protocol built for fast transfers and stablecoin payments. In Polymarket’s new setup, Spark checks the Bitcoin transaction when it is broadcast instead of waiting for normal confirmation times.
Spark checks for double-spend risk, fee adequacy, and replace-by-fee signals before crediting a deposit. The protocol then credits the deposit in under a second and carries the confirmation risk.
Spark calls this model “zero-conf.” The system allows Polymarket to support Bitcoin deposits without running its own Lightning nodes or setting separate confirmation rules for users.
The deposit flow also remains self-custodial. This means each wallet links to the user’s own keys, while Spark manages the payment route in the background.
Faster deposits arrive as activity grows
The update comes as prediction markets continue to draw heavy activity. As previously reported by crypto.news, World Cup trading pushed Polymarket-linked contracts past about $5 billion, while broader prediction market volume reached $44.8 billion in June.
Faster deposits may help users who want to enter live markets without waiting for Bitcoin confirmations. On-chain delays can matter when prices change quickly during sports, politics, crypto, and macro events.
Spark said the feature can work with several apps and exchanges that support Lightning withdrawals. These include Cash App, Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, OKX, Wallet of Satoshi, Tether Wallet, and Cake Wallet.
That gives Bitcoin holders more ways to move funds into Polymarket without relying only on a slower on-chain route. It also adds another payment option for a platform that already uses crypto rails for market access.
Polymarket remains under review
The new deposit feature arrives while Polymarket faces closer regulatory checks in several markets. As previously reported, the CFTC opened a broad investigation into Polymarket’s business activity and social media operations.
Polymarket has also drawn attention outside the U.S. As crypto.news reported yesterday, South Korea delayed any enforcement decision while giving the platform a chance to respond to concerns over possible gambling-law violations.
The company is also facing legal pressure in New York. In a separate case, two users sued Polymarket after alleging the platform wrongly denied payouts on a Strategy Bitcoin market.
