Blockchain.com filed two license applications with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate a futures exchange for event contracts and a broker for derivatives contracts, CNBC reported Friday.

The filings cover a designated contract market (DCM) license for prediction-market event contracts and a futures commission merchant (FCM) license for crypto derivatives, targeting US retail and institutional clients.

What would the licenses let Blockchain.com do?

A DCM designation would authorize Blockchain.com to run its own event-contract marketplace. An FCM license would permit the firm to intermediate derivatives trades on behalf of customers. The two approvals would mark a structural shift for the company, moving it from a spot-trading exchange toward federally regulated derivatives infrastructure.

Blockchain.com announced in July that it intended to integrate Polymarket's prediction markets on its app. The CFTC applications, if approved, would let the exchange host event contracts without routing volume through a partner venue.

Where do prediction-market oversight fights stand?

The CFTC's review coincides with active federal-state litigation over the legal treatment of platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. State regulators argue event contracts on sports and elections constitute illegal gambling; the CFTC has asserted federal jurisdiction over the products.

• Last month, New Jersey officials petitioned the US Supreme Court to review their enforcement case against Kalshi, a fight that could settle whether state gaming laws or federal commodities law governs event contracts.
• Kalshi and Polymarket have separately faced suits from multiple states over sports- and election-related markets.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig has publicly claimed the agency holds exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets. Selig remains the commission's sole sitting member, with the White House yet to nominate candidates for the four vacant seats as of Friday.

Why is the CFTC pushing crypto rules now?

Selig used a Wednesday Fox Business interview to argue the agency should advance cryptocurrency regulation through rulemaking rather than wait for congressional legislation. He cited the November 2022 collapse of FTX, which triggered criminal charges against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives, as the cautionary precedent.

Selig said the proposed rules would bring "safeguards to crypto spot markets." On Friday he wrote on social media that the framework would prevent "theft of customer funds as we saw with FTX."

The pending rulemaking would govern companies registering as licensed crypto businesses, an approach the chair frames as necessary to close the regulatory gap exposed by the FTX bankruptcy.

What is Blockchain.com's broader strategy?

Separately, Blockchain.com has been weighing an initial public offering at a valuation as high as $6 billion, targeting a $500 million raise, according to earlier reporting cited by CNBC. The CFTC filings would complement that capital-markets trajectory by anchoring the exchange inside a US federal regulatory perimeter.

The commission has not announced a timeline for acting on the DCM and FCM applications. Selig has said he intends to execute President Donald Trump's crypto agenda through rulemaking, a posture that will shape how the agency processes exchange-level applications over the coming months.