Key Takeaways
Polymarket's US affiliate, Coming Home GBA LLC, filed for a futures commission merchant license with the National Futures Association, a step toward offering margin trading to US customers.
The CFTC must still approve changes to Polymarket's rulebook before customers can open positions that are not fully collateralized, clearance rival Kalshi secured in March.
The filing lands during a reported CFTC probe of Polymarket's marketing and days after a Manhattan judge ruled federal registration does not preempt state gambling laws.
Polymarket has applied for a license that would let Americans trade its prediction markets on margin, putting leverage one regulatory step away from the platform's US comeback. Bloomberg first reported the filing Thursday, and CoinDesk confirmed it Friday. The company's US affiliate, Coming Home GBA LLC, filed for a futures commission merchant license with the National Futures Association.
The license is only half the path. Polymarket also needs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to approve changes to its rulebook before customers can open positions that are not fully collateralized. Kalshi, its main rival, cleared that hurdle in March when it secured clearance to offer margin trading to institutional investors.
The timing is the notable part. The filing lands while the CFTC is reportedly investigating Polymarket's staged-trade marketing videos, four years after a $1.4 million CFTC settlement pushed the platform out of the US, and days after Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan denied Kalshi's bid to block New York from enforcing its gambling laws against prediction markets. Torres ruled that federal registration does not preempt state gambling authority, which means a national license may still leave these platforms answering to regulators state by state.
The market Polymarket is chasing keeps growing. Prediction market volumes hit $51 billion last year and are on pace for roughly $240 billion in 2026, and Bernstein expects $1 trillion by 2030. US-linked wallets traded $571 million on Polymarket's political markets during the ban, so the demand was never in question. What margin adds is leverage, larger positions on less capital, and that is exactly the line regulators are being asked to draw between information markets and gambling. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
What is margin trading on a prediction market?
Margin lets a trader open a position without posting its full value in collateral up front, the way futures traders do in traditional markets. It makes bigger positions possible with less capital, and it magnifies losses the same way it magnifies gains, which is why regulators approve it contract type by contract type.
Can Americans legally trade on Polymarket?
Polymarket agreed to stop serving US customers in a 2022 settlement with the CFTC over unregistered event contracts. It has been rebuilding a regulated US return since, and onchain analysis firm Allium found US-linked wallets still traded $571 million on its political markets over the past year.
Does Kalshi already offer margin trading?
Yes. Kalshi received clearance in March 2026 to offer margin trading to institutional investors, which gave it a head start on the same leverage business Polymarket is now filing for.
What did the New York ruling mean for prediction markets?
Judge Analisa Torres denied Kalshi's request to block New York's gambling enforcement, ruling the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt state gambling laws. Platforms may face state-by-state compliance even after winning federal approvals.