StarkWare has opened OffMarket to the public, allowing Polymarket users to trade prediction market positions without publicly linking those positions to their accounts.
The privacy layer operates as an intermediary between traders and the Polymarket protocol. When a user transacts through OffMarket instead of directly on Polymarket, their wallet address does not appear on the public blockchain ledger alongside their market positions or order history. The mechanism uses StarkWare's zero-knowledge proof infrastructure, which allows transactions to be verified without exposing the identity of the transacting party.
Polymarket is the largest prediction market platform by trading volume, with users betting on outcomes ranging from U.S. elections to cryptocurrency price movements and geopolitical events. The platform operates on the Polygon blockchain, where all trades are public by default. Traders have repeatedly flagged the transparency of their positions as a concern, particularly around high-stakes political markets where large bets attract media attention and can expose individuals to social or professional blowback.
StarkWare built OffMarket using its Starknet layer-two network, which compresses multiple transactions into a single proof before settling on Ethereum. The company has positioned privacy as a core use case for zero-knowledge technology beyond scaling. StarkWare did not disclose adoption metrics or transaction volume for OffMarket in its announcement.
Privacy layers have emerged across multiple blockchain applications over the past 18 months. Tornado Cash, a mixing service that enabled Ethereum privacy, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022, which constrained but did not eliminate demand for privacy tools. OffMarket's design differs in that it does not mix funds from multiple users; it simply hides the link between a trader and their positions.
Polymarket's parent company Polymarket Inc. has not stated whether it views privacy layers as complementary or competitive to its own platform. The company has faced regulatory pressure from U.S. authorities over market manipulation and user verification, and it is unclear whether OffMarket affects Polymarket's ability to comply with those requirements.
StarkWare opened OffMarket as prediction markets grow in the United States and internationally. Polymarket users who value anonymity now have an alternative to direct trading, though the service introduces an additional intermediary between the trader and final settlement. Whether traders adopt OffMarket at scale depends on whether the privacy benefit justifies the added complexity and potential fees.
