U.S. Return of Polymarket Imminent Following Successful $112M Acquisition
Polymarket Set to Return to U.S. Market Following $112 Million QCEX Acquisition
After a three-year absence, Polymarket is poised to legally re-enter the U.S. market following its acquisition of QCEX, a derivatives exchange and clearinghouse licensed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The acquisition grants Polymarket immediate access to fully regulated infrastructure, including QCEX’s designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization licenses. This bypasses the lengthy licensing process that took QCEX over three years to complete.
The return to the U.S. follows the closure of investigations by the CFTC and the Department of Justice into Polymarket earlier in July 2025 without any charges filed, signaling regulatory clearance to operate legally within federal derivatives law. Polymarket had previously exited the U.S. market in January 2022 after a $1.4 million settlement with the CFTC concerning unregistered event-based binary options.
While Polymarket has not announced an exact relaunch date, it is widely expected to resume operations in the U.S. around September 2025, coinciding with the football season, a peak period for sports-related prediction markets offered on the platform. The company emphasizes this new phase as a fully compliant re-entry, backed by regulatory licenses, enabling them to serve American users with greater legal certainty amid evolving U.S. regulations on digital assets and prediction markets.
Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee is set to vote on approving Brian Quintenz, a Kalshi board member, for full Senate confirmation to lead the CFTC. Quintenz has stated he will step down from Kalshi’s board if confirmed, and supports the CFTC’s role in managing prediction markets.
However, some challenges may remain at the state level due to differing views on prediction markets and gambling laws. Polymarket’s legal tactics in the U.S. are expected to become apparent soon, with lawsuits involving states being a near certainty.
In the competitive U.S. market, Polymarket aims to compete with rival Kalshi, which has been likened to gambling by critics. Despite denying being a gambling service, Kalshi has used marketing that suggests otherwise in the past. The legality of prediction markets in all 50 states is uncertain, but so far, Kalshi and Crypto.com have withstood courtroom challenges.
Polymarket’s CEO, Shayne Coplan, has announced that Polymarket is "coming home," and the company spent about $1 million on Meta advertising targeting American social media users last fall, despite not having a presence in the U.S. The company has also recently agreed to a partnership with an unnamed platform X.
[1] CoinDesk (2025). Polymarket to Return to U.S. Market After $112 Million QCEX Acquisition. [online] Available at: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/08/01/polymarket-to-return-to-us-market-after-112-million-qcex-acquisition/
[2] The Block (2025). Polymarket to Resume U.S. Operations in September 2025. [online] Available at: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/108432/polymarket-to-resume-us-operations-in-september-2025
[3] CFTC (2022). Polymarket to Pay $1.4 Million Penalty for Offering Unregistered Event-Based Binary Options. [online] Available at: https://www.cftc.gov/pressroom/pressreleases/8365-22
[4] Department of Justice (2025). Polymarket Investigation Closed Without Charges Filed. [online] Available at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/polymarket-investigation-closed-without-charges-filed
- Polymarket's return to the U.S. market, following the $112 million QCEX acquisition, presents an opportunity for the company to delve into regulated financing and investing within the business sector, leveraging technology to strengthen its platform.
- The acquisition of QCEX's licensed infrastructure marks a significant milestone for Polymarket, as it intends to offer fully compliant services in prediction markets, aiming to compete with rivals like Kalshi in the evolving U.S. digital asset and technology landscape.
