Blockchain.com has applied to US regulators for permission to operate a prediction market and offer cryptocurrency derivatives to American customers, seeking to expand its services beyond the international partnerships it currently uses to provide these products. The digital asset platform has submitted applications to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for two licenses covering exchange operations and derivatives brokerage.
The company told CNBC that it wants to offer event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives to retail and institutional customers in the United States. Event contracts allow traders to take positions on the outcomes of real-world events, while the requested derivatives authorization would allow Blockchain.com to facilitate trading in financial contracts tied to underlying assets.
The applications come as cryptocurrency companies expand into prediction markets and existing event-trading platforms introduce products associated with digital asset exchanges. Blockchain.com is seeking approval to establish its own regulated US operation, although the applications do not yet authorize it to launch the proposed services.
Applications Target Exchange and Brokerage Operations
Blockchain.com has requested designation as a designated contract market (DCM), a status that would allow it to operate a futures exchange, alongside registration as a futures commission merchant (FCM). The latter designation applies to businesses that act as brokers for futures and other derivatives contracts.
Together, the two approvals would provide the regulatory basis for Blockchain.com to operate an event-contract marketplace and facilitate derivatives trading in the United States. The company currently offers related services to some international customers through third-party platforms.
“Users should be able to manage their digital assets, trade derivatives, and take positions on real-world events easily, without jumping between different apps,” said Peter Smith, CEO and co-founder of Blockchain.com, in a statement. “Our DCM and FCM applications build toward that future in the U.S. through the appropriate regulatory frameworks.”
Blockchain.com introduced prediction markets earlier in 2026 through a partnership with Polymarket. It also made perpetual futures available to some customers outside the United States, with trading infrastructure powered by Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange.
The proposed US expansion would give the company the opportunity to provide these services through its own regulated operation, subject to CFTC approval. Its existing international arrangements demonstrate that it has already begun offering both event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives, while the new applications address the separate regulatory requirements for entering the American market.
Crypto Companies Expand Across Event Trading
Blockchain.com’s move follows a broader shift in the relationship between cryptocurrency exchanges and prediction-market operators. Companies from both sectors have begun offering overlapping products as event-based trading attracts greater commercial interest. Crypto.com and Gemini Space Station operate their own event-contract marketplaces, while Coinbase offers prediction markets primarily through its partnership with Kalshi.
The crossover also extends in the opposite direction. Kalshi and Polymarket have introduced perpetual futures, a widely used cryptocurrency trading product, for US and international customers, respectively. For Blockchain.com, securing its own CFTC designations could reduce its reliance on external partners when serving US customers. It would also place the company among businesses seeking federal authorization to operate event-contract exchanges as regulators and state authorities dispute oversight of the sector.
Blockchain.com is among 12 companies, including itself, that have filed for DCM licenses during 2026. The CFTC has approved six new designated contract markets this year.
Federal authorization has become a central issue for prediction-market operators because some states have challenged the legality of their products under local gambling laws. A CFTC license could provide a federal regulatory basis for operating an exchange, although disputes over the division of authority between state and federal regulators remain unresolved.
The legal environment continues to develop. The CFTC recently sent proposed rules to the White House intended to reinforce its authority over prediction markets. Separately, litigation involving the NFL and other parties has raised questions about whether certain event contracts qualify as federally regulated swaps. That dispute involving Kalshi has drawn the attention of the US Supreme Court.
Public Listing Plans Add to Expansion Efforts
Blockchain.com is also preparing for a potential stock market listing. On May 21, the company announced that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the time of that announcement, Blockchain.com said the size and price range of the proposed offering had not been determined. It also stated that any listing would remain subject to market conditions and regulatory review.
The pursuit of US derivatives and prediction-market licenses adds another regulatory process to the company’s plans. The applications also arrive amid growing expectations for the prediction-market industry. Analysts at Bernstein have projected that annual trading volume across the sector could reach $10 trillion by 2035, according to a report cited in the supplied coverage. The firm expects activity to increase substantially from its estimate of $410 billion in trading volume for 2026.
That forecast reflects expectations for continued growth in event-based trading, although it does not guarantee that the industry will reach the projected volume. The sector’s development will also depend on how regulators define the boundaries between financial derivatives and gambling-related activity.