Polymarket Goes Leveraged: Tells CFTC "Let Users Bet With Less Skin in the Game" 🎲

Polymarket has applied for a U.S. license to offer margin trading on its prediction market, filing through affiliate Coming Home GBA LLC with the National Futures Association on July 3, according to Bloomberg. The application seeks registration as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), the same license rival Kalshi obtained earlier this year through its affiliate Kinetic Markets LLC.

An FCM designation would let Polymarket hold customer funds and manage margin in the same way traditional futures intermediaries do, allowing users to open positions by posting only a portion of the required capital rather than the full amount upfront. Even with NFA approval, the company would still need the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to sign off on rulebook changes before it can list margined contracts.

The move comes as prediction-market volumes continue to climb. Industry volumes reached $51 billion last year and are on pace for roughly $240 billion in 2026, with Bernstein projecting the sector could reach $1 trillion by 2030 as it expands from niche wagering into broader "information markets" spanning sports, crypto, politics and the economy.

Polymarket's filing also follows a Wednesday marketing campaign aimed at convincing policymakers, regulators and potential users that the platform is trustworthy. The company had agreed four years ago to stop serving U.S. customers as part of a $1.4 million settlement with the CFTC, which alleged it had offered unregistered event-based derivatives. Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment.

The next decision sits with the CFTC, whose ruling will determine whether Polymarket can narrow Kalshi's lead in offering leveraged event contracts to U.S. customers in the months ahead.