---
type: source
title: "Polymarket Seeks CFTC Approval to Reopen Main Exchange to US Traders"
author: "CoinDesk (reporting on Bloomberg)"
url: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/04/28/polymarket-seeks-cftc-approval-to-reopen-main-exchange-to-u-s-traders
date: 2026-04-28
domain: internet-finance
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
processed_by: rio
processed_date: 2026-04-30
priority: medium
tags: [polymarket, cftc, dcm, us-users, prediction-markets, regulatory-approval]
intake_tier: research-task
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Polymarket is seeking CFTC approval to lift the ban on US users accessing its main offshore prediction market exchange, Bloomberg reported April 28, 2026.

**Key facts:**
- The 2022 CFTC settlement imposed a ban on US users from Polymarket's main exchange (settled for $1.4M penalty for unregistered commodity options facility)
- November 2025: CFTC approved Polymarket's US-only platform via $112M QCEX acquisition (registered DCM) — limited to sports contracts
- March 2026: US platform produced $0-minimal volume while main offshore exchange produced $10B+ in trading volume
- Now seeking: CFTC "Amended Order of Designation" to bring main exchange back to US users
- Main exchange allows US users to trade directly on-chain in USDC on Polygon (not intermediated through brokerage rails)

**What changes if approved:**
- US users could access $10B/month prediction market volume directly on-chain
- US would become the single largest accessible market for Polymarket overnight
- The main exchange has the broadest range of event contracts (sports, elections, crypto, current events)
- US-based traders currently must use the limited US platform or VPN to access main exchange

**Status:** CFTC approval pending — not yet received as of April 28-30, 2026. Bloomberg reported the application is in progress.

**Background:** The CFTC approved a limited US return in November 2025 through QCEX acquisition. Polymarket's strategy is now to use that regulatory foothold to expand to full main exchange access.

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** If approved, Polymarket's main exchange bringing $10B/month in volume to US users would create the largest US prediction market by a factor of 10x or more. This has implications for MetaDAO's ecosystem in several ways:
1. **Competitive dynamics:** Polymarket (sports/elections) and MetaDAO (governance) don't compete directly — but they share the Solana-adjacent DeFi user base and general "crypto-native" market participant pool
2. **Regulatory precedent:** A successful main exchange approval would establish that on-chain prediction markets can operate under DCM rules with direct USDC settlement — creating regulatory precedent that Hyperliquid might follow
3. **Volume concentration:** Massive volume concentration in regulated event contracts may create political pressure for explicit carve-outs distinguishing governance markets (no sports/elections, TWAP settlement) from event contracts

**What surprised me:** The scale of the gap — US platform produced essentially $0 in meaningful volume while the offshore main exchange produces $10B/month. This shows US regulatory restrictions have essentially eliminated US participation in the world's largest prediction market. The regulatory gap is creating massive friction exactly where MetaDAO's thesis says friction should be minimal.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Any CFTC statement about timeline for approval or whether the application would be evaluated under different criteria than the November 2025 limited approval.

**KB connections:**
- Internet finance is an industry transition from traditional finance where the attractor state replaces intermediaries with programmable coordination and market-tested governance — Polymarket's regulatory architecture (Polygon USDC settlement, DCM registration) is a step toward programmable coordination becoming regulated
- [[Polymarket vindicated prediction markets over polling in 2024 US election]] — the same Polymarket is now seeking full US regulatory access; approval would legitimize the accuracy validation by making it officially accessible to US participants

**Extraction hints:**
- This source is more useful for context/KB connection tracking than standalone claim extraction
- The $10B/month volume figure vs. $0 for the US-restricted platform is the strongest data point — consider enriching claims about regulatory friction and its costs
- The QCEX acquisition as a regulatory foothold is an interesting precedent for how platforms navigate CFTC requirements

**Context:** Polymarket and Kalshi are both DCM-registered or seeking full DCM registration, putting them in the same regulatory tier. As they converge on full US regulatory access, they increasingly become "mainstream" financial infrastructure rather than "crypto-native" platforms — which is a different competitive set than MetaDAO.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)

PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[Polymarket vindicated prediction markets over polling in 2024 US election]]

WHY ARCHIVED: Documents the regulatory pathway for the largest prediction market to become fully US-accessible — context for the broader prediction market regulatory landscape and MetaDAO's relative positioning

EXTRACTION HINT: The $10B offshore vs. $0 US platform volume gap is the key data point — demonstrates regulatory friction costs in prediction markets, relevant to multiple KB claims about regulatory barriers to programmable coordination
