The U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has officially authorized Polymarket to function as a fully regulated, intermediated exchange in the country.
Nearly four years after the platform had to restrict American users due to regulatory infractions, the move makes it possible for U.S. consumers to access Polymarket’s event contracts through conventional brokerage methods.
Polymarket Becomes a Regulated Exchange
Blockratize, Polymarket’s parent business, received an order from the CFTC in 2022 to stop providing services to U.S. persons and to pay a $1.4 million penalty for operating an unregistered event-based derivatives platform. Since then, Polymarket has followed a planned route back to the United States, including the $112 million purchase of QCX LLC and QC Clearing LLC, businesses that already have CFTC clearinghouse and derivatives exchange licenses. The regulatory framework for Polymarket’s re-entry was supplied by that acquisition.
The new Amended Order of Designation issued by the CFTC authorizes Polymarket to function as an intermediated trading venue under the same federal framework that governs other designated contract markets. This obliges Polymarket to implement enhanced surveillance systems, market supervision policies, robust clearing arrangements, and detailed Part 16 reporting, similar to traditional futures exchanges.
Intermediated Access and Market Structure Changes
With the amended designation, Polymarket can now onboard futures commission merchants (FCMs) and brokerages, allowing U.S. clients to trade event contracts directly via their existing financial intermediaries. This structure differs sharply from its earlier direct-to-consumer model, aligning Polymarket’s access model with established commodities and derivatives markets.
Before relaunching in the U.S., Polymarket claims it will complete other regulations and operational processes, including as compliance controls for macroeconomic data, sports, politics, and other event contracts. Although an exact launch date is not available yet, internal advice points to a go-live aim before the end of 2025, which would align with a busy macroeconomic and electoral schedule.
If Polymarket’s U.S. relaunch goes according to plan, it might serve as a blueprint for other prediction platforms looking to move from gray-area operations to fully supervised exchange models, which could transform how markets measure and trade future occurrences.
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