Polymarket, a leading crypto-prediction platform, is set to re-enter the United States market by acquiring QCX, a CFTC-approved derivatives exchange, for $112 million. This comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) wrapped up their investigations into the platform’s operations.
Polymarket’s US Re-Entry
Polymarket completed a $112 million purchase of QCX today, as reported by Bloomberg. QCX had received CFTC approval on July 9, allowing the platform to provide prediction markets to users in the U.S. This acquisition is crucial as it clears up the regulatory issues that kept Polymarket from operating in the U.S.
The CFTC fined the prediction platform $1.4 million in 2022 for operating an unregistered derivatives platform, resulting in a ban on U.S. users. Investigations by the DOJ and CFTC intensified after the 2024 election when the prediction platform managed $3.6 billion in predictions, leading to an FBI raid on CEO Shayne Coplan’s home in November 2024.
Before settling with the CFTC in 2022, Polymarket was a popular platform for U.S. users to predict various events, such as political outcomes, using USDC on the Polygon blockchain. Founded in 2020 by Shayne Coplan, it featured over 900 event markets and attracted millions with questions like “Will Trump win in 2020?”
However, the CFTC defined its contracts as unregistered binary options, leading to the fine and user ban. There were concerns that U.S. users accessed the platform through VPNs, which added to the regulatory scrutiny.
A Bright Outlook For the Future
Now that the investigations are over, Polymarket plans to use QCX’s CFTC license to offer regulated prediction markets to U.S. users. The platform aims to expand its offerings and integrate forecasts into mainstream platforms through partnerships, including deals with X and xAI.
Polymarket, backed by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, aims to raise $200 million to accelerate its growth and leadership in global prediction markets while adhering to regulatory requirements. By working with a supportive U.S. administration, it seeks to transform how Americans engage in real-time event predictions.
