Polymarket expands regulated US prediction market business

Polymarket is widening access to its regulated U.S. prediction-market platform ahead of the November midterm elections and a busy autumn sports schedule, adding a reported web product for American users after earlier launches through a waitlist and iOS app. The expansion follows a year of regulatory rebuilding, senior hiring, and rapid growth in reported U.S. trading activity.

Community members reported that Polymarket US launched a browser-based version this week, extending the service beyond the iOS rollout that began in May. Polymarket has not publicly detailed the scope of the web release in the information provided, but the move would give the company a more conventional entry point for users who prefer desktop trading and live event monitoring.

The timing places Polymarket US in a more direct contest with Kalshi, the larger U.S. event-contract platform by monthly volume. It also gives Polymarket additional distribution before political markets, football, tennis, and other high-frequency event categories are expected to draw greater attention later in the year.

U.S. volume rose sharply after the iOS launch

Trading-volume data published on Dune shows Polymarket US recording about $5.0 billion in July, up from $1.769 billion in May. June volume reached $4.041 billion, more than twice the May level, according to the dashboard.

Polymarket International reported higher volumes in absolute terms during the same period, though its monthly activity moved unevenly. The international platform recorded $7.077 billion in May, rose to $10.773 billion in June, then declined to $8.044 billion in July, the Dune data shows.

That pattern increased the U.S. business’s volume relative to Polymarket International. The U.S. platform accounted for roughly 25% of international volume in May, about 38% in June, and 62% in July. The figures suggest that the domestic rollout has become a meaningful source of activity even while the international platform remains larger.

Kalshi nevertheless maintained a substantial lead in July. Its monthly trading volume was about $37.7 billion, compared with approximately $5.0 billion at Polymarket US and $8.0 billion at Polymarket International. Polymarket’s combined volume was therefore near $13.0 billion for the month, less than one-third of Kalshi’s reported total.

The gap illustrates the challenge Polymarket faces in converting brand recognition and international experience into U.S. market share. A web product could help reduce friction for users, particularly during fast-moving events where traders want to follow prices alongside news, sports broadcasts, or election results.

Return to the U.S. followed QCEX acquisition

Polymarket’s U.S. return followed its 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which alleged the company had offered unregistered derivatives activity to U.S. users. The company subsequently left the U.S. market.

In July 2025, Polymarket acquired QCEX, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed derivatives exchange and clearing entity, for $112 million. The deal provided the regulatory infrastructure for a domestic relaunch under U.S. commodities-market rules.

QCX LLC began operating under the Polymarket US name and received a revised CFTC designation order in November 2025. The service started opening to waitlist users in December 2025, followed by the U.S. iOS release in May 2026.

That sequence separates the U.S. business from Polymarket’s international operation and places its domestic product within the CFTC-regulated exchange framework obtained through QCEX. The distinction affects how the company can list contracts, supervise market activity, and market its platform to U.S. users.

Senior hires target growth and compliance

Polymarket has also reshaped its leadership bench as it expands. Travis VanderZanden, the founder of Bird and a former executive at Uber and Lyft, joined the company as chief growth officer and took responsibility for its marketing system.

The company has separately recruited personnel from Robinhood, Coinbase, Nasdaq, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for compliance, regulatory, investigations, and risk-management roles. Those hires point to a business preparing for more intense scrutiny as its U.S. user base and product range expand.

The compliance buildout comes after questions over Polymarket’s earlier promotional practices. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that promotional partners had published videos showing simulated trades through an interface closely resembling the live product. The newspaper reported that roughly $1.9 million in bets displayed across more than 1,100 videos were simulated.

The CFTC later opened an inquiry into marketing activity connected to those practices, according to the supplied material. Polymarket responded by restructuring its marketing department, revising partner rules, and training staff under the new standards. It also hired AlixPartners to review promotional content published by partners for compliance with the updated guidelines.

For an event-contract platform, marketing controls carry more weight than ordinary consumer-app advertising. Contracts tied to elections, sports, economic releases, and major news events can resemble short-term trading products, and promotional content that blurs real and simulated activity can create misleading impressions about liquidity, returns, or the ease of trading.

Funding ambitions track a costly competitive race

Polymarket’s U.S. push is taking place alongside a widening gap in the companies’ reported fundraising targets. Polymarket was valued at about $9 billion in October 2025 and then at $15 billion after raising about $1 billion in April 2026. In August, it began seeking another roughly $1 billion round at a target valuation above $20 billion.

Kalshi, meanwhile, was reported to be discussing a financing round at a target valuation of about $40 billion, following a $1 billion raise one month earlier that valued the company at $22 billion.

Those valuations remain fundraising targets or outcomes rather than measures of long-term profitability. They do show how prediction markets have become an expensive competition over liquidity, regulatory capacity, consumer distribution, and partnerships. A platform with deeper active markets can attract more participants, which in turn can improve pricing and reduce the cost of entering or exiting a position.

Polymarket’s reported web launch is therefore more than a feature update. It extends the company’s U.S. access at a period when political and sports contracts could generate substantial demand, while its compliance overhaul will be tested by the same growth it is trying to capture.