Blockchain.com moves to bring US derivatives in-house: from reselling Polymarket and Hyperliquid products to running its own exchange

For years, many crypto apps have made money by distributing products built by someone else. Blockchain.com is moving to change that. The company has reportedly applied to operate a designated contract market and a futures commission merchant in the United States, which together would let it run its own derivatives exchange and handle customer accounts, orders and collateral, according to Finance Magnates, citing CNBC.

Public records confirm part of the picture. National Futures Association records show that Blockchain.com Derivatives Inc. has had a pending futures commission merchant registration and NFA membership application since 25 August, and that it is not yet authorised to conduct futures commission merchant business. The reported exchange application was not yet visible in public CFTC records. The company has not disclosed products, how it will handle clearing or a launch date.

How Blockchain.com offers derivatives today

At present, Blockchain.com acts as a distributor. Event contracts, which let users take positions on the outcome of real-world events, appear in its brokerage app for eligible international users through an integration with Polymarket. Perpetual futures are offered through its self-custody wallet, powered by Hyperliquid, a decentralised derivatives exchange.

In that model, Blockchain.com supplies the customer channel, while partners supply the contracts and the execution infrastructure. It is a capital-light way to offer popular products, but it means sharing economics with partners and depending on their availability and rules.

The model also limits what Blockchain.com can offer in the United States, where derivatives offered to retail customers must generally trade on CFTC-regulated venues through registered intermediaries. Becoming a designated contract market and a futures commission merchant would let it offer derivatives to US customers under its own name.

• Today: Polymarket event contracts for eligible international users; Hyperliquid-powered perpetuals in the self-custody wallet.
• FCM: pending registration and NFA membership application since 25 August 2026.
• DCM: reportedly applied, not yet visible in public CFTC records.
• Not disclosed: products, clearing approach, launch date.

The partner model has served the company well internationally. Integrating established products let it offer popular trading features quickly without building matching engines, liquidity or regulatory infrastructure. But it also leaves the company exposed to partners' decisions, from product changes to regulatory restrictions in particular markets.

Why owning the exchange matters

Owning a regulated exchange changes the economics. A distributor earns a share of fees on products it routes to partners. An exchange operator earns trading fees directly, controls which products are listed and owns the customer relationship end to end. For a company with a large user base, that can be significantly more profitable.

It also changes control. A distributor depends on partners' product decisions, pricing and regulatory standing. An exchange operator decides what to list, how to design contracts and how to manage risk, subject to regulatory approval.

The trade-off is cost and responsibility. Running a designated contract market and a futures commission merchant requires capital, compliance teams, surveillance systems, risk management and clearing arrangements. The company has not said whether it will build, acquire or outsource its clearing infrastructure, which is one of the most demanding pieces.

Distributors share the economics. Exchange operators keep them. That is why crypto apps want to own the venue.

Data is another advantage of owning the venue. An exchange operator sees order flow, liquidity and trading behaviour in detail, which helps it design better products and manage risk. A distributor sees only its own customers' activity, while the partner sees the full market.

The Robinhood precedent

Blockchain.com is following a path that Robinhood has already taken. Robinhood began by distributing event contracts from an external exchange, then formed a joint venture with Susquehanna that acquired MIAXdx, now operating as Rothera, according to Finance Magnates. Owning the venue gave Robinhood more control over products and economics.

Other players are moving in the same direction. Coinbase completed its integration of Deribit, the crypto options exchange it acquired, and expanded its CFTC-registered derivatives business. Kalshi won CFTC approval for a US500 perpetual future in October, extending its exchange from event contracts into equities, as we covered in our Kalshi report.

The pattern is clear: platforms with large retail audiences are vertically integrating into derivatives, seeking to own the venue rather than rent access to it.

The precedent also shows the time involved. Building or acquiring a regulated derivatives venue takes regulatory approvals, capital and integration work, and Robinhood's path to owning an exchange stretched over a long period. Blockchain.com's application is an early step on a similar road.

The regulatory backdrop

The timing coincides with a shift in how the CFTC approaches crypto. On 5 October, the agency opened a consultation on Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, which would define when leveraged retail crypto transactions fall under its authority and create a dedicated crypto asset market category of exchange registration, as we explained in our report on the CFTC consultation.

A tailored registration path would make it easier for crypto-focused firms to operate regulated venues. Blockchain.com's application through existing categories suggests it is not waiting for the new framework, but the direction of policy supports its strategy.

Approval is not guaranteed. Regulators will examine the firm's financial resources, governance, compliance systems, customer protection and the design of any contracts it wants to list. Prediction markets in particular face scrutiny over which events can be traded and how markets are protected from manipulation.

What it means for users and competitors

For US users, a regulated Blockchain.com derivatives venue would mean access to products under CFTC oversight, with protections on customer funds and market conduct. For international users, the existing partner integrations would likely continue, subject to local rules.

For competitors, Blockchain.com's move adds another well-known brand to the race for regulated retail derivatives. Exchanges and apps that remain pure distributors may find their economics squeezed as integrated rivals offer similar products directly.

For partners such as Polymarket and Hyperliquid, distribution deals with apps that later build their own venues carry a risk: today's distributor can become tomorrow's competitor. That dynamic will shape how platforms negotiate partnerships in the future.

Prediction markets are a particular area of interest. Event contracts on economic data, politics and sports have drawn large volumes, and regulated venues that can list them attract new users. How regulators treat different categories of event contracts will shape what a Blockchain.com venue could offer.

What Asian traders should note

Most of this activity concerns the US market, where derivatives regulation is strict. In Asia, access to crypto derivatives and prediction markets varies widely. Thailand is building a framework for crypto derivatives on its futures exchange, Singapore restricts retail leverage, and several countries treat event contracts as gambling.

Traders in the region should check local rules before using derivatives products in any app, and understand which entity offers the product and under which regulator. A product available to users in one country may be restricted or unlicensed in another.

Blockchain.com's application marks another step in the vertical integration of retail crypto platforms. Distribution built the audience; owning the exchange captures the value. Regulators still have to approve the plan, and the cost of running a derivatives venue is high. But as the CFTC builds a clearer framework and rivals like Robinhood, Coinbase and Kalshi move first, the pressure on large crypto apps to own their markets will only grow.