As we wake up to news about the missing Titanic submarine that imploded near the Titanic wreckage site, crypto bros have stooped to a new low. Opportunistic gamblers have stooped so low as to wager as much as US$170,000 (AU$250,000) in crypto over whether or not the submarine will be found.
The betting is happening on Polymarket, a site that describes itself as a platform where “people can buy/sell shares on the likelihood of an event happening.” How does it work? Someone creates an ‘event’ and poses it as a question – for example, like who will win the election – and users place bets in crypto.
In this case, the ‘event’ was: “Will the missing submarine be found by June 23?” And users could bet either “yes” or “no”.
At the time of writing, the volume of bets has surged to over US$709,000 (AU$1.05 million).
“Ethics down the drain”
Unsurprisingly, the move has sparked much backlash on social media for attempting to profit off human life. On Twitter and Reddit, users slammed the Titanic wager as “dark”, “disgusting”, and “low”.
“Betting on if someone survives or dies is sick,” writes a Twitter user.
“I love gambling but this is a f*cked up new level,” tweeted Alex Monahan, a seasoned gambler who bets on sports.
“The crypto space is always up to something weird,” noted a Reddit user. “Literally nothing surprises me in this space anymore,” wrote another.
Polymarket, on the other hand, made the ill-advised PR decision to capitalise off the buzz and began responding to tweets in a patronising tone. It also jumped on opportunities to promote its platform by replying under viral tweets. If you are that desperate to get users on board, are you really the “world’s largest prediction platform”?
“You really tryna explain our own website to us incorrectly?” Polymarket tweeted to a user who critiqued the Titanic bet. In another screenshot, users shared an alleged deleted tweet from the betting platform calling another user a “p*ssy.”
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The missing OceanGate submarine carried five passengers on board, including CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani billionaire father-son duo Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood.
A US Coast Guard confirmed this morning that the submarine suffered a “catastrophic implosion”, killing all passengers. Debris of the vessel has been found around 1,600 feet away from the bow of the Titanic.
People gamble over anything: sports matches, elections, crypto, and so on. But placing bets over this particular tragedy – that is a new low.
