Polymarket Files for US Margin Trading, Chasing Kalshi Into Leveraged Prediction Markets

Polymarket has filed to offer margin trading in the United States, a step that could eventually let traders on the prediction market platform wager on events while fronting only part of the usual capital. The filings surfaced in the National Futures Association’s public database last week.

According to the NFA’s BASIC system, an affiliated Polymarket entity called Coming Home GBA LLC has applied for futures commission merchant registration and related approvals through PM Derivatives LLC. PM Derivatives submitted the main filings, covering FCM, NFA member, and swap firm registration, on July 3. To actually switch on leveraged trading, Polymarket would still need approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Margin would be a meaningful escalation for a platform that only returned to the US late last year under a fully regulated structure. Letting users trade with borrowed funds turns a binary betting venue into something closer to a leveraged derivatives exchange, expanding both the potential payouts and the risk for retail traders. It also intensifies Polymarket’s arms race with Kalshi as the two chase the same regulatory ground.

Kalshi is further down that path. Its affiliate, Kinetic Markets LLC, secured NFA approval as a registered FCM and swap firm in March, clearing its own runway for margin. The rivalry is running hot: in June, both platforms posted record monthly volume, with Kalshi at $33 billion and Polymarket and its US entity at nearly $14 billion combined. The two also raced to launch crypto perpetual futures earlier this year.

Polymarket’s US expansion has not been without friction. The platform is contending with a CFTC probe and a lawsuit over its marketing practices even as it builds out regulated products. The margin filings signal it intends to keep pushing into the onshore derivatives space regardless.

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