Polymarket’s $112 Million Acquisition Unlocks U.S. Market Relaunch: Report

• Polymarket reopens to U.S. users after nearly four years, backed by a new DCM license.
• With new funding and strategic partnerships, Polymarket aims for a $10 billion valuation.
• Kalshi dominates U.S. prediction markets, but Polymarket’s relaunch adds new competition.

Polymarket will reopen to U.S. customers for the first time in nearly four years, after facing a ban from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The platform for betting on the outcome of world events could be relaunched as early as October 2. This comes after Pocket announced a CFTC-accredited DCM license to work in the U.S. with the purchase of QCX LLC for $112 million in July.

Polymarket is eligible to self-certify markets with its DCM (Designated Contract Market) license allowing for sports and election betting. This is a bold move in the evolution of the company. The platform reopened after the CFTC issued a no-action letter in September, confirming that the platform could re-launch activity in the U.S. legally. Shayne Coplan, the CEO of Polymarket, applauded the regulator’s work.

Source:CFTC

Polymarket’s Comeback and Strategic Growth

The platform was one of a number of crypto companies that had to stop U.S. operations in January 2022 in the face of regulations. It was fined $1.4 million for running an unregistered exchange. 

After agreeing to block Americans, the platform grew rapidly elsewhere. In just the first six months of 2025, The platform had handled more than $6 billion in bets. It also got noticed for correctly forecasting the 2024 U.S. presidential election result.

Also Read: Polymarket Acquires CFTC-Licensed QCEX for $112 Million to Relaunch U.S. Prediction Market

Polymarket has also seen significant investment since leaving the U.S. Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund led a $200 million funding round in June that valued the company at $1 billion. Now The platform is in discussions to raise new capital that could value it at more than $10 billion. The fund-raise coincides with the company’s coming relaunch in the U.S.

And Polymarket saw its political reach expand in August when Donald Trump Jr. joined its advisory board. Trump’s venture capital business, 1789 Capital, poured tens of millions of dollars into the platform. The gamble follows the closure by the CFTC and Department of Justice investigations into the platform. Both agencies opted against further court action in July.

Polymarket’s Strategic Partnerships and Competition with Kalshi

The platform has grown by relationships with large partners as well. Perhaps his most infamous partnership is with Elon Musk’s X. The partnership combines Polymarket’s prediction markets with Musk’s xAI and its AI chatbot Grok. In September, the platform introduced an annual 4% yield on some long-term positions in political and geopolitical markets.

Kalshi, a competing prediction market platform, has largely controlled the U.S. market in the wake of Polymarket’s departure. Kalshi generated $728 million in trades last week — almost 60 percent higher than the platform’s volume. 

According to Dune Analytics, mid-September saw Kalshi covering more than 66% of on-chain prediction market volume. That gives Kalshi a firm toehold in the burgeoning U.S. prediction market segment.

Source: Dune

Their dominance comes from being a CFTC authorized DCM. A competitive advantage is that the platform can offer contracts on political events after a 2024 court win. Even so, Kalshi is fighting legal battles brought by state regulators. Massachusetts sued Kalshi, alleging that its “event contracts” were unlicensed gambling.

The platform continues to be blocked in some overseas markets. These are in places such as France, Belgium, Thailand and Singapore where it has been prosecuted for breaking gambling laws. But with its fresh DCM license, the platform is able to bring real-money markets to U.S. citizens. The license also permits it to self-certify a greater number of markets, distinguishing itself from its rivals.

Also Read: Polymarket Cleared by US Regulators: DOJ and CFTC End Crypto Betting Probes