- Polymarket, one of the leading prediction wagering sites, is re-opening in the U.S. The company has bought a little-known derivatives exchange, which will allow it to legally re-enter the U.S. The Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently ended their investigations of the site.
Prediction site Polymarket hasn’t offered its services in the U.S. since 2022, but now the platform says it’s making a comeback.
The company, on Monday, announced it had acquired QCX, the holding company of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed derivatives exchange, and QC Clearing, a clearinghouse, for $112 million. That, it says, “paves the way for U.S. users to access Polymarket in the near future.”
QCX only received regulatory approval to begin operating on July 9.
Polymarket ceased operations here as part of a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That dispute emerged from Polymarket’s lack of a license. There were also concerns of market manipulation.
Seven days ago, however, the Justice Department and CFTC ended their investigations (which were launched by the Biden administration) of Polymarket. That led to the deal that reopened the U.S. as a market for the site.
Wagering on events, from politics to the ridiculous, has continued with users from other countries (as well as an unknown number of U.S. users working around the geoblock to place wagers). And that has helped the site grow.
“Demand is greater than ever — not just in user growth and trading volume, but in how mainstream audiences are turning to Polymarket to separate signal from noise, bias, and speculation,” said founder and CEO Shayne Coplan in a statement. “Now, with the acquisition of QCEX, we are laying the foundation to bring Polymarket home — re-entering the US as a fully regulated and compliant platform that will allow Americans to trade their opinions.”