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Polymarket wallet tied to Cottrell took in $8.8M to bet Trump win
A Polymarket account registered as “GCottrell93” staked the incoming funds on a Trump election victory and booked $4.46 million in profit, then moved almost all winnings to other wallets, with funding and payout recipients unclear.
The Financial Times reported that a Polymarket account registered as “GCottrell93,” linked in public blockchain analysis to George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster who has bankrolled Nigel Farage, received $8.8 million in crypto in 2024 from unidentified sources.
According to the report, the account was funded in late October 2024 from two crypto exchanges, including $7.0 million from OKX sent in multiple tranches, and $1.83 million routed through ChangeNOW. After funds arrived, they were immediately staked on Donald Trump winning the U.S. election.
The prediction market wallet then cashed out after the election outcome, turning the stake into $4.46 million in profit and moving almost all of the amount back out to other wallets. The outlet said it remains unclear who supplied the money and who ultimately collected the winnings.
Decrypt also noted that Polymarket has not formally linked the account to Cottrell, while blockchain investigator ZachXBT said he has high confidence it belongs to him after flagging it earlier this year over a $550,000 loss on a separate bet involving U.S. strikes on Iran. Cottrell’s lawyers declined to comment on the transactions, and Reform UK did not respond to the paper.