Blockchain.com has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for designated contract market and futures commission merchant licenses, seeking to offer event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives to US customers. The filing places the crypto platform among a dozen companies pursuing similar federal approvals this year, even as states including Michigan and Ohio push back against sports-related prediction markets.
Blockchain.com has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for two federal licenses that would allow it to operate a US exchange for event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives, RG reported on Oct. 10, 2026. The company told CNBC it is seeking designation as a designated contract market (DCM) and registration as a futures commission merchant (FCM).
Neither application has been approved. A DCM license allows a firm to operate a futures exchange, while an FCM registration permits it to act as a broker for derivatives contracts.
“Users should be able to manage their digital assets, trade derivatives, and take positions on real-world events easily, without jumping between different apps,” Peter Smith, CEO and co-founder of Blockchain.com, said in a statement reported by RG. “Our DCM and FCM applications build toward that future in the U.S. through the appropriate regulatory frameworks.”
Blockchain.com began offering prediction markets earlier this year through a partnership with Polymarket, along with perpetual futures powered by Hyperliquid, but only to select international customers, according to RG. Approval of both applications would let the company operate its own exchange and serve as a broker for US customers.
Eleven other companies have filed for DCM licenses this year, according to the RG report. The CFTC has approved six new contract markets in 2026.
Crypto companies have moved into prediction markets while prediction market operators have expanded into crypto products. Crypto.com and Gemini Space Station run their own event contract marketplaces. Coinbase offers event contracts primarily through a partnership with Kalshi. Kalshi and Polymarket have launched perpetual futures for US and international customers, respectively.
Federal registration has not settled whether states can treat sports-related event contracts as gambling. Coinbase agreed to halt Michigan sports contracts under a settlement with the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which required the company to stop offering new contracts and close open customer positions by Oct. 10, RG reported.
Michigan limits sports wagering to state-licensed operators.
Earlier in October, the Ohio Casino Control Commission ordered 10 prediction markets to stop offering sports contracts. Coinbase was among the recipients of those orders. The commission cited a Sept. 25 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals holding that federal commodities law does not preempt Ohio’s sports gaming law.
The central dispute involves whether federally registered markets can offer sports contracts in states that require those same products to carry state gambling licenses, a question with significant implications for how prediction markets operate alongside traditional regulated gaming.
IPO Plans in Progress
Blockchain.com is also preparing to go public. The company confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May. Bloomberg reported last month that Blockchain.com plans to list this year at a valuation of $4 billion to $6 billion.
