Blockchain.com has filed for CFTC licenses to offer prediction markets and crypto derivatives to U.S. users, becoming the latest large crypto broker to chase the event-contract business.
The Dallas-based company said on October 13, 2026 that it has applied for Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and Designated Contract Market (DCM) licenses with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to its announcement. Approval is still pending, so the company has not launched any U.S. prediction market product yet.
Why every crypto broker wants a DCM
The CFTC classifies event contracts as swaps, and a designated contract market can list futures, options and swaps for retail as well as institutional traders, which is what lets a DCM run prediction markets. The FCM permit, issued through the National Futures Association, allows a holder to process derivatives trades and hold client funds.
That route has already drawn most of the industry. If the applications are approved, Blockchain.com would join Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gemini Space Station and Robinhood among brokers with major digital-currency businesses offering event contracts in the U.S.
The filing also covers crypto derivatives for U.S. customers, a market where the company already has international experience. Earlier this year Blockchain.com announced self-custodied prediction markets and perpetual futures trading for users in eligible markets outside the U.S., and it describes that rollout in its own account of the international launch.
A new entrant with its own app
A well-funded entrant with its own retail app would add to that competition. Blockchain.com, which is privately held, says it has cleared more than $1.1 trillion in crypto transactions, runs over 95 million wallets and operates in more than 70 countries, all figures the company reports about itself.
The race for CFTC licenses is also a race for distribution. Blockchain.com said the applications are a step toward bringing prediction markets and regulated trading directly to U.S. users in the Blockchain.com app. The CFTC has not said when it will rule on the applications.
