After the first debate of the 2024 election cycle, blockchain bettors showed increased skepticism about President Biden's performance, leading to a surge in odds for former President Trump on the Polymarket platform. Trump's odds of winning the November election climbed to 67%, reflecting greater confidence among bettors in his chances of victory.

Polymarket features a contract for predicting the 2024 election outcome, with nearly $188 million at stake, including about $23 million on Trump and $21 million on Biden. Bets on Polymarket are placed in smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain and settled in the USDC stablecoin. The platform experienced brief downtime due to heavy traffic during the debate.

Market sentiment suggests less than a 70% chance that Biden will secure the Democratic nomination, with California Governor Gavin Newsom at 17% and Michelle Obama at 7%. The odds of Biden withdrawing from the presidential race increased to 43% during the debate.

Crypto tokens representing Trump and Biden showed significant declines. The MAGA token (TRUMP) fell by 12.5%, the BODEN token decreased by 34%, and the DJT token linked to Barron Trump dropped by 5%. Despite crypto being a key issue in the Republican campaign, it was not mentioned during the debate.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was not invited to the debate, responded to the questions in a special broadcast on X, garnering 5.6 million views on the platform.