Polymarket is facing intense criticism after its official Traders account deleted a controversial post widely condemned as racist. The post threatened to revoke affiliate “Polybaddie” badges from users in India, Turkey, and Nigeria, accusing them of “LARPing as egirls,” and included the ethnic slur “jeet.” The message quickly ignited outrage across X, where traders, influencers, and industry figures slammed the platform for unprofessional behavior and discriminatory language.
The post, intended to crack down on fake “Polybaddie” profiles, told accounts from the targeted regions to “get your last slop posts in” before their badges were removed. It also ended with an unsettling sign-off: “love & gratitude.” This attempt at humor backfired, with Polymarket’s own top traders criticizing the platform for using a racial slur and jeopardizing its reputation. One high-ranking trader called the message “extremely unprofessional,” while other affiliates voiced concern about the company’s judgment.
Healthcare CEO Danish Nagda also labeled the term racist, and at least one crypto news aggregator withdrew from Polymarket’s affiliate program in response. Making matters worse, the post appeared to be reshared by Polymarket’s Head of Growth, William LeGate, adding fuel to the controversy.
Affiliates from rival platform Kalshi expressed even stronger objections. Some said they would stop using Polymarket entirely if they were among the nationalities targeted, arguing that it’s “disgusting” for a platform seeking global expansion to use slurs against potential users. Several insisted that Polymarket issue a public apology, calling for the matter to be escalated if it does not.
The controversy emerged alongside X’s new location tagging feature, which reveals user locations unless they have a grey checkmark. This update has exposed many accounts engaging in political content from outside the U.S. but has also contributed to increased stereotyping and racist assumptions in crypto discussions. Researchers have noted that these narratives often misrepresent where scams actually originate.
Screenshots shared by “@Valerie_Onchain” suggest that Polymarket temporarily removed all Polybaddie badges to conduct KYC verification, promising that verified users would have their badges restored. Protos has contacted Polymarket for comment and will update the story when the company responds.
