Polymarket plans to re-enter US with acquisition of derivatives exchange QCEX

Predictions market Polymarket says it's coming back to the U.S. in buying derivatives exchange QCEX, following a federal investigation that was dropped last week.

In a statement released on Monday, Polymarket said the acquisition "marks a significant step toward expanding access to Polymarket's category-defining platform in the United States."

"Demand is greater than ever — not just in user growth and trading volume, but in how mainstream audiences are turning to Polymarket to separate signal from noise, bias, and speculation," Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket said in a statement. "Now, with the acquisition of QCEX, we are laying the foundation to bring Polymarket home — re-entering the US as a fully regulated and compliant platform that will allow Americans to trade their opinions."

Polymarket's move comes just weeks after Polymarket received a formal notice from both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Justice Department, as reported by Bloomberg last week.

In November 2024, Bloomberg also reported that Coplan was facing a Department of Justice probe. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had also seized Coplan's phone and electronics, according to a report from the New York Post, citing an anonymous source.

In 2022, Polymarket settled with the CFTC for allegedly offering illicit binary options contracts. In return, it agreed to pay a $1.4 million fine, wind down its non-compliant markets, and take preventative steps to block U.S. users on an ongoing basis.

Polymarket will pay $112 million for QCEX, according to Bloomberg. The CFTC has oversight over the derivatives exchanges, according to QCEX's website. The CFTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Polymarket became popular during the election season last year when it allowed people to place bets using crypto on congressional and presidential races.

Bloomberg first reported the news on Monday. [Bloomberg]