Blockchain.com Files for CFTC Licenses to Launch Prediction Markets

Blockchain.com has applied to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for two licenses that would allow the exchange to operate its own prediction market platform and offer crypto derivatives to US-based retail and institutional investors, according to a Friday CNBC report. The company filed for a designated contract market (DCM) license to run a futures exchange for event contracts, and a futures commission merchant (FCM) license to act as a broker for derivatives contracts. The move comes as Blockchain.com eyes a broader push into prediction markets, building on a July partnership announcement with Polymarket to integrate prediction market functionality into its app. If approved, the CFTC licenses would let Blockchain.com offer its own marketplace alongside that integration.

The regulatory application lands amid intensifying legal scrutiny of prediction market platforms. Kalshi and Polymarket are both facing lawsuits from state-level authorities over alleged violations of laws governing sports and election betting. Last month, New Jersey officials filed a petition asking the US Supreme Court to weigh in on their case against Kalshi, a case that could ultimately resolve jurisdictional disputes between federal and state regulators over event-contract oversight. Separately, Blockchain.com is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering with a targeted valuation of up to $6 billion, aiming to raise around $500 million.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has meanwhile been pushing the agency to advance crypto regulation through formal rulemaking, citing the November 2022 collapse of FTX and the criminal charges against its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried as justification. In a Wednesday Fox Business interview, Selig said the proposed rules would bring "safeguards to crypto spot markets" and, in a Friday post, argued they would prevent "theft of customer funds as we saw with FTX." Selig currently leads the CFTC as its sole sitting commissioner, with no nominations yet announced for the agency's four vacant seats. He has repeatedly signaled his intent to advance President Donald Trump's crypto policy agenda through the commission's regulatory authority.