Blockchain.com Seeks Two CFTC Licenses for US Trading

Blockchain.com applied on Oct. 9 for two U.S. licenses to offer event contracts and cryptocurrency derivatives, seeking to run its own regulated marketplace for American customers. The company told CNBC, as Decrypt reported, that it wants to serve both retail and institutional traders.

• Two applications: a designated contract market license and futures commission merchant registration.
• Eleven other companies filed for designated contract market licenses this year, CNBC reported.
• The CFTC approved six new designated contract markets in 2026, according to CNBC.

What would the two licenses allow Blockchain.com to do?

A designated contract market license would let Blockchain.com operate an exchange for event contracts, while futures commission merchant registration would let it act as a broker for derivatives. Event contracts let customers trade on the outcome of real-world events.

Together, the licenses could allow Blockchain.com to offer and broker those products through its own U.S. marketplace. The applications are requests for regulatory approval; the reports do not say that either license has been granted.

How does that compare with its current products?

Blockchain.com already offers prediction markets through a partnership with Polymarket and perpetual futures powered by Hyperliquid to some customers outside the United States, according to The Block’s report citing CNBC. Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts without a set expiry date.

The proposed U.S. licenses would give the company a route to operate its own venue and brokerage for these types of trading. Its current overseas arrangements rely on other platforms to provide the products, the reports said.

Blockchain.com co-founder and chief executive Peter Smith told CNBC that users should be able to manage digital assets, trade derivatives and take positions on real-world events without switching between apps. The company has not detailed which event contracts or crypto derivatives it would offer if approved.

How many firms are seeking access to event trading?

Blockchain.com’s applications join a wider push to offer event contracts through federally regulated markets. CNBC reported that 11 other companies filed for designated contract market licenses this year, and that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had approved six new designated contract markets in 2026.

The CFTC oversees the requested licenses. Approval could allow Blockchain.com to offer these products to U.S. customers under its own registrations, but the applications do not guarantee an approval or establish when a service might launch.

Sources and documents

• Decrypt reported — decrypt.co
• The Block’s report citing CNBC — theblock.co