Blockchain.com is seeking approval to operate prediction markets and offer cryptocurrency derivatives to U.S. customers, applying for two licenses from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as it moves to bring services currently offered through overseas partners onto its own platform.
Two licenses for one regulated marketplace
The company has applied for a designated contract market license and a futures commission merchant license, according to Decrypt, which reported the details from comments Blockchain.com provided to CNBC.
A designated contract market license would allow Blockchain.com to operate a futures exchange for event contracts. These contracts let participants trade on the outcome of real-world events. The futures commission merchant authorization would allow the company to act as a broker for derivatives.
Together, the approvals would enable Blockchain.com to operate a regulated marketplace in the United States for both retail and institutional customers. The applications do not represent an approval, and the company would need the CFTC to grant both licenses before launching the proposed U.S. operation.
Bringing overseas offerings in-house
Blockchain.com already provides some related services to international customers through partnerships. Earlier this year, it began offering prediction markets through Polymarket and perpetual futures powered by the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.
The proposed CFTC-regulated platform would change that arrangement in the United States by allowing Blockchain.com to run its own venue for event contracts rather than directing users through third parties. Chief Executive and co-founder Peter Smith told CNBC that the company wants customers to be able to manage digital assets, trade derivatives and take positions on real-world events in one place.
Prediction markets are markets where contracts are linked to whether a specified event happens. Crypto derivatives, meanwhile, are financial contracts whose value is tied to digital assets. Perpetual futures are a type of derivative that does not have a fixed expiration date.
A wider fight over who regulates event trading
Blockchain.com’s filings come as companies seek federal approval to enter a rapidly expanding prediction-market sector. According to the source report, 11 other companies have submitted applications for designated contract market licenses this year, while the CFTC has approved six new such licenses in 2026.
A federal license is particularly important because prediction-market operators have faced challenges from state gambling regulators. States have sued companies including Kalshi and Polymarket, while federal and state authorities continue to dispute which level of government has jurisdiction over these markets.
The CFTC has recently sent the White House proposed rules intended to strengthen its authority over prediction markets. Separately, a legal dispute involving the NFL and other parties against Kalshi over whether event contracts qualify as federally regulated swaps has attracted the attention of the Supreme Court.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 11:48-11:49 a.m. on October 11, 2026, showed mixed performance among selected digital assets:
- Filecoin (FIL): $1.0962487674, down 3.38% over 24 hours and up 3.69% over seven days.
- Ethereum Name Service (ENS): $6.1273019268, down 3.45% over 24 hours and 9.62% over seven days.
- OriginTrail (TRAC): $0.4059202201, up 0.11% over 24 hours and down 9.72% over seven days.
- Four (FORM): $0.2790902861, up 0.74% over 24 hours and down 1.06% over seven days.
The interest in prediction markets reflects a broader rise in trading activity. Bernstein analysts have projected that the sector could generate billions of dollars in revenue by the end of the decade as the market potentially reaches $10 trillion.
