PolyTerminal
You can lose your whole balance
A winning prediction market share redeems for $1.00 and a losing one for nothing, so if you hold the wrong side at resolution, the money in that position ends at zero. In the rare case that neither outcome applies, the market resolves 50/50 and each share redeems for $0.50. A leveraged Perps position can be closed by the exchange when your margin no longer covers the loss, and what you put in as margin can be lost.
Leverage and liquidation
Leverage multiplies gains and losses by the same factor. The higher the leverage, the smaller the move against you that is needed to liquidate the position. Liquidation can happen in seconds in a fast market, and the price you are closed at can be worse than the price you saw. Maximum leverage differs by market (3x to 50x in the Oct 19, 2026 list) and the allowed leverage falls as a position grows. Polymarket's own pages disagree on the top of that range: its Perps FAQ says up to 20x for crypto, SP500, oil, gold and silver, while the live list shows 50x for USA500-USD, US100-USD, BTC-USD and ETH-USD. The live list shows the maximum of each market, so we use it.
Prediction markets carry their own risks
- Rules decide the result, not the title. Read the resolution rules of each market. Two markets with similar titles can resolve differently.
- Resolution can be disputed and can take days. Markets that resolve through an oracle can be challenged, and a challenged result can take much longer to settle.
- Short windows are fast. Crypto windows of a few minutes can move from certain to wrong in seconds, and if you trade often, fees and spreads are paid again on every trade.
- Liquidity can be thin. You may not be able to buy or sell at the price you want, or at all.
Technology and counterparties
- PolyTerminal is an interface. Your orders are placed on Polymarket, which has its own technology, outages, maintenance windows and rule changes.
- Prices and results depend on third parties such as oracles and data providers.
- Smart contracts can contain bugs. Wallets and keys are your responsibility: anyone who has your key controls your funds.
- Connections fail. An order you think was sent may not have been, and an order you think was cancelled may have filled.
Availability and the law
Polymarket restricts who can trade, and the restrictions differ by product. For Perps, its documentation says orders cannot be placed from the United States, Canada, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, and adds that the list can change and other restrictions may apply. For prediction markets, a separate documentation page lists restricted places under a complete block, where users can neither open nor close positions, or close-only rules, where users can close existing positions but cannot open new ones. Prediction markets and leveraged products are regulated differently in different places, and you are responsible for knowing the rules where you live. PolyTerminal uses Polymarket's official geoblock check and is not available in all regions.
Fees
Polymarket's own fees depend on the product. On prediction markets, takers pay a fee and makers pay none. On Perps, a fee is charged on each fill and depends on your trailing 30-day trading volume, and a fill during a liquidation pays an extra liquidation rate, so its fee is Notional × (MakerOrTakerRate + LiquidationFeeRate).
Funding on Perps is not a Polymarket fee. It is paid between long and short traders, and the protocol takes no cut, so you can either pay it or receive it. The fee guide and the Perps guide explain each.
PolyTerminal is free to use. Orders placed through PolyTerminal carry PolyTerminal's Polymarket builder code, and PolyTerminal may charge a builder fee on top of Polymarket's own fees. On prediction markets, builder fees are a flat percentage of the trade value set by the builder within limits that Polymarket enforces: at most 1% on taker orders and 0.5% on maker orders. Polymarket's documentation says builder fee rates are publicly queryable.
Simulated data on the home page
The terminal on the home page is an interactive illustration. Its prices, account and orders are simulated, and the demo is scripted: by default, the script moves the simulated price in favor of a position you open there. A real market follows no such script. The amounts, profits and results shown there are scripted examples. They are not typical, not what you should expect, and not a promise of any result.
Not advice
This site explains how markets work. It does not know your situation and does not tell you what to trade. Trade only with money you can afford to lose, and ask a qualified adviser if you are unsure. How we write and check these pages is in the editorial policy, and who we are is on the about page.
Sources and checks
Every rule quoted in this article comes from the registry below. Each row names the official page and the day it was compared with the text.
All 16 rules used in this article
| Rule | Value | Official source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| What a winning share redeems for | $1.00 | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Payout of a share when neither outcome applies (50/50) | $0.50 | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Maximum leverage across Perps markets | 3x to 50x | api.perpetuals.polymarket.com/ | |
| What the Perps FAQ page says about maximum leverage | up to 20x for crypto, SP500, oil, gold and silver | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Highest maximum leverage in the Perps list | 50x | api.perpetuals.polymarket.com/ | |
| Markets with a 50x maximum (display names) | USA500-USD, US100-USD, BTC-USD and ETH-USD | api.perpetuals.polymarket.com/ | |
| Countries where Perps orders cannot be placed | the United States, Canada, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| The Perps list of restricted places can change | the list can change and other restrictions may apply | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| How restrictions on prediction markets are grouped | a complete block, where users can neither open nor close positions, or close-only rules, where users can close existing positions but cannot open new ones | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Fees on makers | none | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| What sets the Perps fee tier | trailing 30-day trading volume | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Fee on a liquidation fill | Notional × (MakerOrTakerRate + LiquidationFeeRate) | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Who receives funding | the protocol takes no cut | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Highest builder fee on taker orders (prediction markets) | 1% | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Highest builder fee on maker orders (prediction markets) | 0.5% | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Builder fee rates | are publicly queryable | docs.polymarket.com/ |
PolyTerminal is an independent interface for Polymarket and is not operated or endorsed by Polymarket. Orders placed through PolyTerminal carry PolyTerminal’s Polymarket builder code, and PolyTerminal may charge a builder fee on top of Polymarket’s own fees. This page is educational and is not investment advice.