Blockchain.com Seeks CFTC Licenses to Offer Prediction Markets in the U.S.

The crypto wallet company wants federal approval to run its own event-contract exchange and broker, putting sports and election bets in the same app as its crypto trading.

Francis Gable

14/10/26 · 2 minOctober 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Blockchain.com has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to run its own U.S. exchange for prediction markets and crypto derivatives, the company announced on Oct. 13.

The company says it has supported more than 44 million confirmed accounts since 2011. If the CFTC signs off, U.S. users could trade crypto, futures and contracts on real-world events in one app. Those events are mostly sports: in August, about $1.2 billion of roughly $1.5 billion in event-contract volume reported to the CFTC was on sports, according to a CFTC proposal.

Blockchain.com Files for Two Licenses

The filing has two parts. One asks the CFTC to name Blockchain.com a designated contract market, the federal term for a futures exchange. The other seeks registration as a futures commission merchant, a broker that handles customers' derivatives trades.

Users should be able to manage their digital assets, trade derivatives, and take positions on real-world events easily, without jumping between different apps.

That was Peter Smith, the company's chief executive and co-founder, in the announcement. The company did not provide a timeline for approval.

Blockchain.com already offers prediction markets and perpetual futures to some international users. CNBC, which first reported the filing on Oct. 9, said those products run through partnerships with Polymarket and Hyperliquid.

Crypto Firms Crowd the CFTC Queue

Blockchain.com is one of 12 companies to file for an exchange license in 2026, and the CFTC has approved six new ones this year, CNBC reported. Crypto.com and Gemini already run event-contract markets, and Binance.US has said it plans its own bid.

The CFTC counts more than 15 pending exchange applications filed since 2025, according to the same proposal.

A federal license may not settle where sports contracts can be offered. In August, the Ninth Circuit let Nevada enforce its gambling law against Kalshi's sports contracts, after another appeals court ruled the other way in April.

The CFTC's proposal would define event contracts, including sports contracts, as swaps under federal law. Public comments are due 30 days after it appears in the Federal Register.

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