U.S. CFTC Gives Go-Ahead For Polymarket's New Exchange, QCX

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has freed up prediction market firm Polymarket's QCX acquisition from certain disclosure and data requirements as the company moves forward in its U.S. business offerings. QCX, which got its license to start operations in July before it was snatched up later that month by Polymarket, has been granted a "no-action letter" from the CFTC, allowing it to operate in specifically defined ways without drawing enforcement attention. The firm was acquired by Polymarket in hopes of its official return to U.S. business, which it was forced to abandon in 2022 under direction from the regulator. Polymarket has since emerged from earlier federal investigative interest as the U.S. government has eased its tense relationship with this sector, and companies — also including rival Kalshi — have been given more free rein. The field, as a result, has begun to explode in visibility and usage. Wednesday's decision from two relevant divisions within the CFTC — at the staff level and not a commission ruling — "is similar to previous no-action positions taken with respect to reporting certain binary options transactions and similar transactions," the agency noted. The letter doesn't explicitly address prediction markets, but it notes its position on the "recordkeeping regulations for event contracts." Though he hasn't been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, yet, President Donald Trump's nominee to run the CFTC, former Commissioner Brian Quintenz, has close ties to Kalshi as a board member and told lawmakers that the binary event contracts offered at such firms are appropriate "hedging tools." Even without his arrival, the agency has been taking a friendlier stance, with Acting Chairman Caroline Pham saying the CFTC has let itself get bogged down in a "sinkhole of legal uncertainty" as it pursued legal cases against the industry. Read More: Robinhood Partners With Kalshi to Launch NFL and College Football Prediction Markets