Forecast markets are actively betting on the total amount of snowfall in major cities amid a brutal winter storm that has caused widespread power outages and the grounding of thousands of flights.
How Much Snow Will NYC Really See?
On Polymarktmore than $700,000 has been deployed on a market predicting how many inches of snow New York City will receive this weekend.
At the time of writing, bettors see a 47% chance of total snowfall falling between 10 and 12 inches. The solution source for this market will be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In Washington DC, a similar contract showed bettors assigning the highest odds, at 56%, on an outcome of six to six inches of snowfall in the federal capital.
Polymarkt, based on Polygon (CRYPTO: POL), allows users to buy “Yes” and “No” shares USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) stable coin. The shares representing the correct outcome will be paid out $1 USDC each by decision of the market.
Meanwhile, gamblers on Kalshi saw one 98% likelihood that total snowfall in NYC would exceed 4 inches. About $3.7 million has been wagered on the outcome.
The ethical question
The platform has received some criticism in the past for allowing people to profit from natural disasters. When pressed on the issue in an interview, Polymarket CEO said Shayne Coplan admitted it was a “sensitive” issue.
Unprecedented travel disruptions
The bets come as the snowstorm paralyzed normal life, knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers and led to the most flight cancellations since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to facts FlightAware reported that more than 12,000 flights were canceled and more than 20,000 delayed on Sunday.
President Donald Trump declared federal emergency disaster declarations in several states, including South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, among others.
Photo courtesy: nyker at Shutterstock.com
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