One trader on the cryptocurrency prediction markets has claimed to have turned just $12 into more than $104,000 after placing only 16 trades. Specifically, an X user under the username ascetic boasted that he had successfully completed his goal of turning $12 into more than $100,000 in just 16 trades, according to a post shared on January 15. I DID IT!!! Turned $12 into $100,000 (over 8,300x) by going all-in and doubling my bankroll 16 times in a row on short-term BTC moves – while sharing my bets and the reasoning behind them along the way. This is only possible on @Polymarket !!! It took a lot of work and real… pic.twitter.com/TJmNOWrmko — ascetic (@ascetic0x) January 15, 2026 In a nutshell, ascetic – known as ascetic0x on Polymarket – started placing bets on the next move of the world’s premier cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ( BTC ), on November 12. The trader, known as ascetic0x on Polymarket, started placing bets on the next move of the world’s premier cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ( BTC ), on November 12 in a challenge that lasted approximately two months, concluding on January 15. How this Polymarket trader grew $12 8,300x At the surface level, the strategy is akin to that of the trading bot that turned approximately $300 into about half a million during December. Despite this, the limited number of bets placed by ascetic demonstrates that, rather than wagering on speed and volume, he was carefully selecting the trades. For his final trade, ascetic bet on a Bitcoin pullback, citing similarities to the October 2025 crash and rising geopolitical tensions involving the U.S. and Iran. He did this primarily by comparing the surge in Bitcoin short position liquidation between the aforementioned price collapse and the market situation on January 14. Bought DOWN at 49¢ in Bitcoin market resolving on January 15 BTC momentum is slowing. About $717M in short positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours. We haven’t seen this level of liquidations since the October 10th crash. According to Reuters, U.S. military… https://t.co/RUhtZ1hZYA pic.twitter.com/KzkEwuIc34 — ascetic (@ascetic0x) January 14, 2026 Therefore, ascetic wagered that the price of BTC would drop and managed to turn $51,000 into $104,000. Lastly, it is worth noting that the escalation of winnings from $12 to $104,000 did not exactly follow exponential progression as the Polymarket trader made some variations in the amount wagered, and benefited from occasionally larger payouts. A pure exponential progression would have taken either 13 bets for $12 to turn in just under $100,000 or 14 bets to turn into more than $196,000. Featured image via Shutterstock The post Polymarket trader turns $12 into $104,000 in just 16 bets appeared first on Finbold .
