Predictions market Polymarket, that had exited the U.S. market in 2022, is reportedly planning to return. The platform could annnounce its U.S. re-launch as early as November, Bloomberg said in a report on Tuesday, October 28 citing sources familiar with the ongoing developments.
The platform is likely to spotlight sports betting to market itself in the U.S. It could mean that Polymarket’s second stint in the U.S. could begin around the upcoming football and basketball season peaks.
Manhattan-based Polymarket, launched in 2020, lets public bid and vote on trending topics ranging from crypto, stocks, sports, and politics to indicate desired results in related situations. Its base on the Ethereum blockchain allows it to keep user transactions compatible with crypto assets like stablecoins. It rose to popularity during the U.S. Presidential election last year.
In 2022, Polymarket paid $1.4 million to settle illegal trading activities allegations levied by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Following the incident, it started expanding outside of the U.S. in order to seek greener pastures.
While it’s HQ address remained etched to New York City, the platform pivoted its working model to remote jobs.
Earlier this year, however, the platform purchased CFTC-licenced derivatives exchange dubbed QCX. Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, the CFTC dropped its investigation over Polymarket, that started under former President Joe Biden’s crypto-skeptic reign.
For now, an official confirmation on Polymarket’s U.S. re-entry remains awaited.
The platform, that is backed by an array of investors like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, presently stands atop the valuation of $9 million, as per CryptoRank.
The senior leadership of the platform have recently hinted on plans of releasing a native $POLY token. It also recently went live on the BNB Smart Chain.