In brief
- Blockchain.com has applied to the CFTC for two licenses—a designated contract market and a futures commission merchant—to offer event contracts and crypto derivatives to U.S. retail and institutional customers.
- The move would bring in-house what it now offers abroad through Polymarket and Hyperliquid.
- It joins a crowded federal-license rush, as the CFTC asserts authority amid state gambling suits and a Supreme Court fight.
Blockchain.com is making a bid to join the U.S. prediction-market boom, telling CNBC it has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for licenses to offer event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives to American customers.
The crypto platform filed for two designations, the company told CNBC: a designated contract market license, which would let it operate as a futures exchange for event contracts, and a futures commission merchant license, which would allow it to act as a broker for derivatives.
Together, the approvals would let Blockchain.com run its own regulated marketplace serving both retail and institutional traders in the U.S.
The move would bring in-house what the company currently offers only through partners abroad. Blockchain.com began providing prediction markets to some international customers this year via a partnership with Polymarket, along with perpetual futures powered by the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.
A CFTC license would let it operate its own event-contract venue rather than route through third parties. CEO and co-founder Peter Smith told CNBC the goal is to let users manage digital assets, trade derivatives and bet on real-world events all in one place.
The application lands amid a crowded rush toward federally regulated event trading. Blockchain.com joins 11 other companies that have filed for DCM licenses this year, according to CNBC, with the CFTC having approved six new ones in 2026.
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The appeal of the federal route is partly jurisdictional: a CFTC license offers cover from state gambling regulators, who have sued prediction-market operators including Kalshi and Polymarket.
The regulatory backdrop is shifting fast, with states battling federal regulators in court over who gets to police such markets.
The CFTC recently sent the White House new rules aimed at cementing its authority over prediction markets, while a court fight over whether event contracts are federally regulated swaps, pitting the NFL and others against Kalshi, has drawn the Supreme Court’s attention.
The appeal of prediction markets for Blockchain.com and others, though, is obvious. Business is booming. Prediction markets are increasingly entering the mainstream and trading volumes have increased dramatically over the last year.
Analysts at Bernstein have projected the sector could generate billions in revenue by the end of the decade in what they predict will be a $10 trillion market.
