Blockchain.com has applied to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for two licenses — a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) — aiming to offer event contracts (prediction markets) and cryptocurrency derivatives to retail and institutional customers in the U.S. CEO Peter Smith said the applications are meant to let users manage digital assets, trade derivatives and take positions on real-world events within a single regulated framework.
The company already offers prediction markets internationally through a partnership with Polymarket and perpetual futures via Hyperliquid. The filings come as Blockchain.com prepares for a planned $500 million IPO and amid a busy year at the CFTC: 11 firms have filed for DCMs and six new DCMs were approved in 2026.
Legal and regulator context
CNBC reports add context: filings come as US courts weigh oversight of prediction markets and New Jersey has petitioned the Supreme Court over its Kalshi case. Blockchain.com’s July plan to integrate Polymarket is noted, but a CFTC license would let it run its own event-contract marketplace. Sources say the company has considered a valuation up to $6 billion and aims to raise $500 million in an IPO. Separately, CFTC Chair Michael Selig has pushed rulemaking for crypto, citing the FTX collapse, and currently serves as the agency’s sole commissioner while advocating the agency’s jurisdiction over prediction markets.