Binance.US and Blockchain.com ask the CFTC to let them run prediction markets, as Kalshi and Polymarket volume more than quadruples to $72 billion a month

Two more crypto exchanges want in on event contracts. Binance.US has filed an application with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer prediction markets in the United States, and Britain's Blockchain.com applied last week for a US licence to offer regulated event contracts, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Cryptoweek could not open the FT report; Bloomingbit and CoinGape name the CFTC in their accounts of it; crypto.news does not name the agency and says neither application authorises either company to offer the products yet.

Blockchain.com is asking for designated contract market and futures commission merchant licences, which would let it run an exchange and broker contracts on sports, politics and economic events for US customers, per CoinGape. Co-founder and chief executive Peter Smith said users should be able to take positions on real-world events "easily, without jumping between different apps," per CoinGape. Binance.US, which CoinGape says is operated by BAM Trading Services, had signalled the move: chief executive Stephen Gregory reportedly said on stage at the Rare Evo conference in Las Vegas that it planned to apply for a designated contract market licence in August, according to a July 29 BeInCrypto report citing journalist Eleanor Terrett.

The applications follow a surge in event-contract trading. Combined volume on Kalshi and Polymarket rose from $17 billion in January to $72 billion in September, per the FT as cited by crypto.news, while spot crypto trading volume fell 18% over the same period, crypto.news and Bloomingbit reported; Bloomingbit attributed the monthly volume figures to The Block. Patrick Moley, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, said retail platforms are widening their product ranges to keep existing customers and win new ones, per Bloomingbit.

The legal ground is contested. Utah sued Kalshi on Tuesday, and Crypto.com and Novig are suing Missouri, as Cryptoweek reported this week; and Michigan regulators said this month that Coinbase agreed to stop offering event contracts in the state, per crypto.news.