Prediction market Polymarket is set to reopen to U.S. users, nearly four years after being effectively banned by the CFTC, and could do so as soon as tomorrow, regulatory filings show. Polymarket, which operates a cryptocurrency-based prediction market on the Polygon network, has begun self-certifying its own event contracts, flexing its authority to do so through the CFTC-licensed exchange it acquired in July.
Polymarket acquired QCX LLC, which is now doing business as Polymarket US, for $112 million. By acquiring the company, Polymarket gained a Designated Contract Market license that grants it the ability to self-certify markets available to U.S. users. After the acquisition, Polymarket had to wait a few weeks for the CFTC to issue a no action letter to say that it would not pursue enforcement over alleged violations for “swap data reporting and recordkeeping regulations.”
When that letter arrived the first week of September, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan said that was the company’s “green light to go live in the USA.” Polymarket rose to prominence in the lead-up to the 2024 election, when users on the platform correctly predicted the reelection of President Donald Trump. Since then, prediction markets have caught fire, with both Polymarket and its largest competitor, Kalshi, pulling in hundreds of millions in weekly trading volume. More recently, Kalshi has pulled ahead in terms of market share, buoyed by its established presence in the U.S. through its own DCM license.
Now, Polymarket, DCM license in hand, is targeting those same coveted U.S.-based users, through regulated and self-certified markets. Self-certification is the default way for CFTC-regulated firms to operate. Once a DCM holder submits a form explaining that its new market complies with all relevant law and regulations, the CFTC has one business day to object. If it doesn’t, the market can be listed right away.
But in this case, Polymarket US has explicitly said that the markets will be listed “no earlier than October 2, 2025.” The four filings include certifications for athletic event, athletic spread, and total athletic score contracts and election winner event contract. But the company’s CEO had plenty to say about the changing regulatory landscape in the U.S. during a D.C. panel on Monday. Coplan appeared on a joint Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission panel with executives from Cboe Global Markets, Nasdaq, Kalshi, and Kraken.
