Blockchain.com has applied to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to register as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and become a Designated Contract Market (DCM), a move that would let the exchange offer regulated crypto derivatives and prediction market contracts to customers in the United States. The Dallas-based company announced the applications on Oct. 13, framing them as a step toward bringing futures, options and event contracts into a single app under federal oversight.
If approved, the registrations would allow Blockchain.com to serve U.S. retail and institutional users with crypto derivatives such as futures and options alongside prediction markets, according to the company announcement. U.S. traders today often use separate platforms for crypto trading and event-based markets, and Blockchain.com said the filing is aimed at unifying those experiences.
What the CFTC Applications Actually Seek
An FCM registration authorizes a firm to solicit and accept orders for futures and options and to hold customer funds for those trades, while a DCM designation lets a platform operate as an exchange that lists contracts for trading. Securing both would let Blockchain.com run that infrastructure directly for U.S. users rather than routing them to third-party venues. The filings follow the company’s earlier launch of self-custodied prediction market offerings and perpetual futures trading for customers in eligible markets outside the U.S.
A Bet on Prediction Markets
Blockchain.com has already partnered with Polymarket, which recently began rolling out its Protocol V2 upgrade with new ERC-1155 markets, to offer self-custodied prediction markets internationally. The CFTC filing is intended to bring similar event contracts to U.S. users. “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, Blockchain.com’s executive chairman, CEO and co-founder.
Regulatory Momentum and What Comes Next
The application extends a licensing push that has brought Blockchain.com MiCA authorization in the European Union, Financial Conduct Authority registration in the UK, and a virtual asset service provider license in the Cayman Islands. It also arrives as the CFTC separately moves to fold event contracts into its swaps framework, a rulemaking that could shape how prediction markets are overseen in the U.S. Approval is not guaranteed: the applications must clear CFTC review, and the company did not provide a timeline for a decision.
