The odds of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) winning the vice presidential debate tumbled Tuesday night on Polymarket, as bettors seemed to rally behind Republican Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio.)  

What happened: Walz was the punters’ favorite before the start of the debate, leading with a 72% probability of a win on the cryptocurrency-based prediction market.

However, the odds fell dramatically as the debate began, plunging below 50% an hour into the face-off. As of this writing, the odds were comfortably in favor of the Republican at 69%. More than $850,000 was wagered for the outcome. 

Polymarket, built atop Ethereum’s ETH/USD Layer-2 chain, Polygon MATIC/USD has gained prominence as one of the world’s top prediction markets for U.S. elections in recent months, though ironically, U.S. users can’t access the platform due to federal regulations.

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Why It Matters: The vice presidential debate saw the two leaders clash on an array of topics including economy, geopolitical tensions, immigration, and more. 

The 90-minute-long debate followed the presidential debate last month where Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was declared the winner against Republican challenger Donald Trump.

As of this writing, presidency odds on Polymarket were little impacted due to the debate, with Harris maintaining a slender lead over Trump.   

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