Blockchain.com has filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for two licenses — a designated contract market designation and a futures commission merchant registration — to offer event contracts and crypto derivatives to U.S. retail and institutional customers, the company told CNBC.

The dual application marks a structural shift for the firm. A DCM license would let Blockchain.com operate its own futures exchange for event contracts, while an FCM registration would allow it to act as a broker for derivatives. Together, the approvals would let the company run a fully regulated marketplace serving American traders directly, rather than routing business through partners abroad.

What does the filing change operationally?

At present, Blockchain.com reaches these product lines only internationally and only through third parties. The company began offering prediction markets to some overseas customers this year via a partnership with Polymarket, and it provides perpetual futures powered by the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.

A CFTC license would bring that infrastructure in-house. CEO and co-founder Peter Smith told CNBC the goal is to let users manage digital assets, trade derivatives and bet on real-world events in one place. That consolidation would reduce the firm's dependence on external venues and capture margin currently shared with partners.

Why the federal route?

The application carries a clear jurisdictional rationale. A CFTC license offers cover from state gambling regulators, who have sued prediction-market operators including Kalshi and Polymarket. State and federal authorities are fighting in court over who polices these markets, and the CFTC recently sent the White House new rules aimed at cementing its authority over prediction markets.

The Supreme Court has also taken interest in the sector. A court fight over whether event contracts qualify as federally regulated swaps — pitting the NFL and others against Kalshi — has drawn the justices' attention, adding uncertainty that a federal charter could help neutralize.

How crowded is the field?

Blockchain.com is not moving alone. The company joins 11 others that have filed for DCM licenses this year, according to CNBC, and the CFTC has approved six new DCMs in 2026. The pace of approvals suggests the regulator is processing applications quickly even as it defends its turf against state-level challenges.

The commercial incentive is straightforward: prediction-market trading volumes have risen sharply over the last year as the sector moves into the mainstream. Analysts at Bernstein project the industry could generate billions in revenue by the end of the decade, in what they forecast will be a $10 trillion market.

What comes next?

Blockchain.com now waits on the CFTC's review of both applications. The outcome will determine whether the company can convert its offshore partnerships into a domestic, vertically integrated venue — and whether it secures that position before the Supreme Court and state regulators redraw the boundaries of who may offer event contracts in the United States.