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Blockchain.com has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for two licenses that would allow it to offer event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives in the U.S., marking its latest push into regulated prediction-style markets.
The company is seeking designated contract market (DCM) and futures commission merchant (FCM) approvals. If granted, the DCM license would let Blockchain.com operate as a futures exchange, while the FCM registration would allow it to broker derivatives trades for customers.
What Blockchain.com is asking the CFTC to approve
According to the company’s filing push, the goal is to bring several functions under one regulated setup in the U.S. CEO and co-founder Peter Smith said users should be able to manage digital assets, trade derivatives and take positions on real-world events without switching between multiple apps.
That matters because event contracts sit close to the prediction-market category that has drawn growing attention across U.S. gambling-adjacent and financial markets. Blockchain.com previously rolled out prediction markets through a partnership with Polymarket and offered perpetual futures powered by Hyperliquid to some international customers, but those products are not yet part of the proposed U.S. structure.
Competition is building in regulated event-contract markets
Blockchain.com would be entering a market where several other operators are already active. Crypto.com and Gemini Space Station run event contract marketplaces, while Coinbase offers similar products mainly through a partnership with Kalshi. Kalshi and Polymarket have also launched perpetual futures products for U.S. and international customers, respectively.
The application also lands during a busy year for exchange licensing. Blockchain.com joins 11 other companies that have filed for DCM licenses this year, and the CFTC has approved six new DCMs in 2026.
What players and market watchers should watch next
For now, the key question is simple: whether the CFTC approves either or both applications. The company has not yet detailed which specific event contracts or crypto derivatives it would list in the U.S. if approval comes through, and no launch timeline has been confirmed.
The move also comes as Blockchain.com pursues a broader U.S. expansion. The company confidentially filed for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May, and Bloomberg reported last month that it was targeting a public listing this year at a valuation of $4 billion to $6 billion.
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Source: As reported by tradersunion.com.
