Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared that he made $70,000 on Polymarket by betting against “crazy mode” while drawing criticism for quietly liquidating millions in ETH.
The ‘Crazy Mode’ Play
In a Foresight News interview, Buterin disclosed his contrarian prediction market strategy: find markets in “crazy mode” and bet that unlikely events won’t happen.
“My approach is simple: I look for markets that are in ‘crazy mode’ and then bet that ‘crazy things won’t happen,’” Buterin explained.
His targets?
Markets betting Donald Trump would win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Predictions that the U.S. dollar would collapse to zero during panic periods.
Classic tail-risk bets driven by hype, not probability.
$440,000 In, $70,000 Out
Buterin reportedly deployed roughly $440,000 across Polymarket throughout 2025, generating about $70,000 in profit.
“If you want to make money, you need to go into those markets where people are caught up in crazy and irrational predictions; that’s where you can make money,” he said.
Meanwhile, The ETH Dump
While Buterin’s been profiting from others’ irrationality on Polymarket, he’s simultaneously been selling his own ETH holdings.
Blockchain analytics tracked Buterin offloading 1,441 ETH, with a total value of $3.297 million.
The sales align with a multi-year donation plan Buterin announced on January 30, aimed at funding open-source software and hardware development.
The timing of Buterin’s liquidity moves couldn’t be more sensitive for the Ethereum community.
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has faced a brutal start to February, plunging nearly 20% in the last five days alone.
Over the past 30 days, Ethereum has shed 30% of its value, leaving investors questioning the asset’s near-term support levels.
After a sharp decline from its January peaks, Bitcoin is currently hovering near the $75,000 mark
The Prediction Market Gold Rush
The sector is currently riding an unprecedented wave of momentum.
Total trading volume for prediction market heavyweights Kalshi and Polymarket combined for $17 billion in January alone—a new all-time monthly high for the industry.
Institutional interest is scaling just as fast.
The latest challenger: Crypto.com, which on Tuesday officially spun out “OG,” a standalone prediction market app designed to capitalize on Super Bowl LX.
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