Polymarket announced that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Amended Order of Designation, allowing the platform to operate as a fully regulated, intermediated prediction market exchange in the U.S.
This marks a significant milestone, enabling Polymarket’s formal re-entry into the American market after a three-year hiatus imposed by regulatory scrutiny. Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market platform, exited the U.S. in 2022 following a CFTC enforcement action.
The regulator fined the company $1.4 million for operating an unregistered derivatives platform offering event-based binary options without proper designation as a contract market or swap execution facility.
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To pave the way for compliance, Polymarket acquired CFTC-licensed entities QCX LLC, a designated contract market and QC Clearing, a derivatives clearing organization in July 2025 for $112 million.
This acquisition positioned Polymarket to integrate with traditional financial infrastructure, including enhanced surveillance, clearing systems, and Part 16 reporting—standards required for Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) under the Commodity Exchange Act.
The approval reflects a maturing regulatory environment for prediction markets, which use blockchain to let users bet on real-world outcomes like elections, sports, or economic events. U.S. users can now trade through registered Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) and brokerages, bypassing the need for VPNs or offshore workarounds.
This aligns Polymarket with established U.S. futures trading channels. As a DCM, Polymarket must adhere to self-regulatory obligations, market supervision, and customer protections, fostering trust and attracting institutional players.
Expect increased liquidity, volume, and mainstream adoption. Polymarket already handles ~40% of global prediction market volume, with $3B+ traded in November 2025 alone. Partnerships with UFC, NHL, Yahoo Finance, and Google underscore its growing influence.
Recent collaborations, like with PrizePicks, an FCM, signal sports and event markets will proliferate. Shayne Coplan, Polymarket’s Founder and CEO, stated: “This approval allows us to operate in a way that reflects the maturity and transparency that the U.S. regulatory framework demands. We’re grateful for the constructive engagement with the CFTC and look forward to continuing to demonstrate leadership as a regulated U.S. exchange.”
This greenlight could catalyze the prediction market sector, valued at billions in 2025 bets across politics, pop culture, and finance. It sets a precedent for crypto-native platforms to bridge with TradFi, potentially inspiring similar approvals elsewhere in Africa for stablecoin integrations.
On X, users are buzzing about retail trader access, on-chain liquidity boosts, and an impending $POLY token airdrop, with some calling it an “explosive setup” for 2026. In contrast, rival Kalshi faced setbacks, with a Nevada court blocking its sports markets on the same day.
Polymarket’s move positions it as the frontrunner in regulated event trading. Additional processes for intermediated trading are being rolled out ahead of a full launch, expected soon.
U.S. participants can now access Polymarket through registered Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) and brokerages, eliminating the need for VPNs or offshore proxies that were common workarounds since the 2022 ban. This aligns Polymarket with established channels like those used for futures trading, potentially onboarding millions of non-crypto users via familiar platforms.
With brokerages able to offer Polymarket contracts directly, trading volumes—already at $3 billion in November 2025—could explode, tightening spreads and improving price efficiency. Partnerships like the recent one with PrizePicks (an FCM) signal rapid rollout of sports and event markets, while integrations with NHL and UFC could drive daily active users.
Everyday traders gain legal, compliant exposure to real-time event probabilities (e.g., “Will the Fed cut rates in December?” or “Will Boeing face charges?”), turning prediction markets into a mainstream tool for hedging personal risks.
The approval removes regulatory barriers for hedge funds, trading firms, and liquidity providers, allowing them to use prediction markets for hedging macro events, geopolitical risks, or corporate outcomes. This could position Polymarket as a “shadow oracle” for Wall Street, where probabilities inform portfolio decisions faster than traditional forecasts.
By connecting crypto-native innovation with regulated infrastructure, Polymarket becomes the first on-chain platform fully embedded in U.S. capital markets. Analysts predict it could evolve into a standalone asset class alongside equities and options, with potential for tokenization of contracts.
Polymarket now leads rivals like Kalshi which holds 62% of U.S. volume as of mid-November 2025 but faced a sports market setback in Nevada. This could consolidate market share, with Polymarket’s global dominance 40% of worldwide volume amplifying U.S.-specific growth.