Polymarket has taken the first formal step toward offering margin trading to US customers. On July 3, the prediction-market platform’s subsidiary, Coming Home GBA LLC, filed an application with the National Futures Association for a futures commission merchant license. A company representative confirmed the filing to Bloomberg on July 9.
The FCM license is only one part of the regulatory puzzle. Polymarket also needs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to approve a rulebook change before it can roll out margin trading. That product lets users open positions without putting up the full notional amount upfront – a tool institutional investors use to juice capital efficiency.
Polymarket is chasing a playbook its rival Kalshi already proved can work. Kalshi snagged an FCM license earlier this year and quickly launched perpetual futures. Within two weeks of the official debut, trading volume in those contracts topped $5.5 billion. The message was clear: regulated margin products on prediction markets have real demand.
Polymarket’s own volumes are already surging. Weekly notional trading hit a record $4 billion in June. The platform is built on blockchain, which makes every trade publicly traceable – a feature that has drawn increased scrutiny from both regulators and Congress over potential insider-trading risks.
To mitigate that, Polymarket plans to impose extra identity checks on margin users. They will have to provide employer information and pass additional KYC verification before accessing leverage.
The move is clearly aimed at attracting a more professional investor base. But the path from filing to launch is not a straight line. The CFTC must still sign off on the rulebook change, and the regulator has shown no hesitation in cracking down on crypto derivatives firms it views as out of compliance.
For now, traders should watch two things: whether the NFA grants the FCM license in the coming months, and whether the CFTC sets conditions that limit how much leverage Polymarket can offer. If history is any guide, Kalshi’s rapid ramp-up suggests the market is ready – but the agency’s timeline remains the biggest variable.
Polymarket Seeks License to Let US Users Trade Predictions with Borrowed Funds
Polymarket filed for a license to offer margin trading, allowing US customers to make larger bets with less upfront money. This move affects users of Polymarket’s prediction platform and shows growing demand for regulated, larger-scale trading tools.