Polymarket Bets on Margin: Files FCM Bid to Let US Users Trade With Borrowed Coins 🎲

Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction market, has applied for a US license that would allow it to offer margin trading to American users, according to Bloomberg. The company filed through its affiliate, Coming Home GBA LLC, to register as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the National Futures Association on July 3.

An FCM license would permit Polymarket to handle customer funds and margin requirements, giving users the ability to open leveraged positions by posting only a portion of the capital needed rather than the full amount upfront. This structure mirrors the brokerage and custody rails used by established futures intermediaries and is commonly used by institutional traders seeking capital efficiency.

Even with NFA registration secured, Polymarket still requires the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to approve rulebook changes before it can list any margined contracts. The CFTC's decision will determine when, and whether, the platform can activate the offering.

Rival prediction market Kalshi reached a similar milestone earlier this year when its affiliate, Kinetic Markets LLC, secured an FCM license, giving it a head start in the regulated US event-contract space. Polymarket's application positions it to narrow that gap if regulators sign off on the necessary framework.

Margin trading carries distinct risks, including forced liquidations and amplified losses, and any leveraged product offered by Polymarket would operate under the same CFTC oversight applied to other US-licensed futures intermediaries.