Polymarket Expands Perpetual Futures, Ignas Says "Prediction Markets Need Improvement First"

Ignas, a DeFi researcher, argued in an X post on the 5th that Polymarket should prioritize improving its core prediction-market product rather than expanding into perpetual futures, citing stagnant trading volume alongside declining active wallets, open interest, and trade counts. He suggested leaving perps to dedicated venues such as Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Variational, while acknowledging that perps could be an attractive way to monetize Polymarket's largely speculative user base. The intervention comes as US midterm election interest has picked up, yet Polymarket's election-related volume remains far below its sports and crypto markets. The debate matters because it tests whether Polymarket can reignite growth by refining existing markets instead of chasing the perps boom that has pulled activity toward specialized derivatives platforms. What to watch next is whether Polymarket's wallet, open interest, and trade-count metrics stabilize, and whether the platform signals any shift in strategy on perpetuals.