What’s changing on August 7
Starting August 7, 2026 at 00:00 UTC, Polymarket’s crypto up/down markets will stop resolving against a single snapshot price at market close.
Instead, resolution will use a Chainlink-computed Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP):
- 5-minute markets → 30-second Chainlink TWAP
- 15-minute markets → 60-second Chainlink TWAP
- 4-hour markets → 60-second Chainlink TWAP
The target price (price-to-beat) stays exactly the same. Only the closing reference changes.
This is a deliberate move to protect market integrity and reduce the impact of last-second price spikes or thin liquidity at the exact close. Polymarket is also adding $1M in liquidity rewards across the affected markets throughout August.
Chainlink mainnet TWAP feeds are already live. Polymarket’s Real-Time Data Streaming (RTDS) WebSocket for TWAP is scheduled for August 4.
Official docs: Chainlink TWAP Prices on Polymarket
Historical impact: How many outcomes would have flipped?
I pulled the last 50 closed markets for each interval (5m / 15m / 4h) across the major assets and compared:
- Snapshot close (current resolution method)
- Chainlink TWAP (new resolution method)
Across 150 recent markets per asset, TWAP would have flipped the outcome in:
| Asset | Flips | Max absolute difference |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | 9 | 6.18 bps |
| ETH | 5 | 7.05 bps |
| XRP | 9 | 8.43 bps |
| SOL | 8 | 9.59 bps |
| DOGE | 8 | 11.77 bps |
| BNB | 2 | 11.13 bps |
| HYPE | 6 | 11.67 bps |
The differences are small in absolute terms (most under 12 basis points), but in binary up/down markets that can be enough to flip the result when price is right at the target.
Visuals from the analysis
Here are the charts comparing Target (yellow), Snapshot close (blue), and TWAP (teal) for the last 50 markets of each interval:
BTC:
ETH:
SOL:
XRP:
BNB: / DOGE: / HYPE:
Source data came from the Vatic API (/api/v1/twap/recent). Snapshot close = Chainlink report at market end. TWAP = Chainlink-computed 30s/60s Data Streams report.
Why this matters for traders and builders
- Last-second sniping becomes less effective. A single tick at the exact close no longer decides the market.
- Bots and strategies that rely on the final snapshot need to adapt. You’ll want the TWAP value (or a running approximation) in the final 30–60 seconds.
- Edge cases near the target price become more interesting. Small differences that previously didn’t matter can now flip outcomes.
- Developers get cleaner, more robust oracle data. Chainlink Data Streams + upcoming Polymarket RTDS give low-latency access to the exact resolution reference.
Getting the data
Chainlink Data Streams (available now)
Use your existing credentials. Feed IDs for 30s and 60s TWAP are on data.chain.link/streams.
Polymarket RTDS (live August 4)
No credentials required. Topic: prices.crypto.chainlink.twap with windowSeconds: 30 | 60.
Vatic API
We’re adding full support so you can pull in one place:
- Target price / price-to-beat
- Snapshot close
- Chainlink TWAP resolution reference
Get API keys: https://platform.vatic.trading/landing
Lowest-latency target price streaming + WebSocket guides are already available.
Bottom line
The change is modest in basis-point terms but meaningful for binary market outcomes. Most historical markets would have resolved the same way. A non-trivial minority would have flipped — especially on the more volatile assets.
If you’re running market-making, arb, or directional bots on Polymarket crypto up/down, now is the time to switch your resolution reference from snapshot to TWAP.
Questions or want the raw data behind the charts? Drop a comment or reach out.
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