Polymarket quietly relaunches in the U.S. beta, allowing real bets for select users after a $1.4M CFTC fine.
The prediction market platform Polymarket has quietly relaunched in the U.S. This return comes in beta mode, allowing select users to place real bets on live contracts. This is after a fine of 1.4 million CTF and an offshore relocation. This relaunch was facilitated by the acquisition of QCX which was an exchange approved by CFTC.
Polymarket’s Regulated Return to the U.S. Market
Emergence of Polymarket has reemerged according to Bloomberg after regulation investigations took place in the U.S. Thus, US exchange is being progressively made available to users. Such cautiousness is the indication of a new dawn of the platform in the American betting market.
IPolymarket is beginning live testing its exchange in the US. It was opened silently to a few users. It is also copycat trades before it launches fully. Moreover, the site boasts of a fully operational exchange. Real contracts are being bet upon by select users. They are also going through the last process of opening up fully.
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In 2022, the platform was relaunched in the U.S. in beta mode after paying a settlement to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This settlement had a fine amount of 1.4 million. Polymarket was also prohibited by the U.S. to conduct an exchange that had not been registered. Besides, it provided forbidden binary options contracts.
The acquisition of QCX made this relaunch possible. QCX is a licensed derivatives exchange by CFTC. It cost the firm an acquisition of $112 million. On the other hand, this acquisition offers the requisite infrastructure in the compliant U.S. operations. Therefore, QCX has changed its name to Polymarket US.
In September of 2025, after the acquisition, a no-action letter was issued by the CFTC. This letter assured Polymarket that it would not incur any enforcement action by the CFTC provided some conditions are met. The return of the platform would not have materialized without this regulatory green light. In addition, tts beta release, now in November 2025, incorporates some users testing functionality. They are betting on contracts and researching in the markets of sports events.
Polymarket Competes with Kalshi in Federally Regulated Prediction Market
The first area where the U.S. relaunches its efforts is the sports betting contracts. This is a strategic decision that tries to take advantage of a rising market segment. This concentration will assist in creating the presence of Polymarket US. The platform earning is what directly puts it in competition with other federally regulated prediction platforms. One of such competitors is Kalshi and it is under the same regulatory framework.
This controlled strategy emphasizes the interest of Polymarket in working within the legal market in the U.S. Further, it represents a drastic change in its past operations. The decision to buy QCX is a strategic one. It also made sure that it followed the CFTC rules.
Ultimately, this enables Polymarket to provide its services to the users of the U.S. legally. The beta testing will make the platform strong because of the continuous testing. It will also ensure that it fulfills the needs of the users, prior to a complete general introduction.
