Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX in bold $112m move to reclaims U.S. market

Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX for a staggering $112 million, marking a powerful comeback into the regulated U.S. market just days after U.S. regulators dropped their federal investigation.

In a swift and strategic move, Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX to gain a regulated path into the United States — a market it has been officially barred from since 2022.

The acquisition includes QCEX’s designated contract market and its affiliated clearinghouse, QC Clearing, giving Polymarket access to U.S.-licensed infrastructure.

“This paves the way for us to welcome American traders again. I’ve waited a long time to say this: Polymarket is coming home,”
— Shayne Coplan, Polymarket CEO, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on July 21.

Fresh off the regulatory hook

The announcement comes on the heels of a significant legal reprieve: U.S. regulators, including the CFTC and DOJ, recently dropped their joint investigation into Polymarket.

The probe, which involved a high-profile FBI raid of CEO Shayne Coplan’s home last November, had cast a long shadow over the company’s U.S. ambitions.

With legal hurdles now cleared, the timing couldn’t be more strategic. Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX just as regulatory winds shift favorably toward prediction markets.

Polymarket’s acquisition of QCEX, a newly licensed and CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange, grants the platform a legal structure to operate within U.S. jurisdiction.

“The acquisition of QCX was laying the foundation to bring Polymarket home — re-entering the U.S. as a fully regulated and compliant platform that will allow Americans to trade their opinions,”
— Shayne Coplan, in a press release on Monday.

This means U.S. residents may soon be able to legally access and participate in Polymarket’s signature prediction markets, covering events ranging from politics and sports to economics and entertainment.

QCEX founders back the vision

Sergei Dobrovolskii, founder of QCEX, expressed enthusiasm over the merger:

“Shayne has built a cultural phenomenon in Polymarket. I’m excited to bring our companies together and leverage our licences, technology, and expertise in the retail trading sector to help Polymarket reach its full potential.”

The $112 million acquisition brings not just regulatory compliance, but decades of technical and legal expertise that could supercharge Polymarket’s next phase of expansion.

Even while blocked from the U.S. since 2022, Polymarket thrived globally. In the first half of 2025 alone, the platform processed over $6 billion in user bets across more than 21,000 open markets.

From the 2024 U.S. election to major sporting events, Polymarket became a global hub for decentralized predictions — particularly among crypto-native traders.

Its recent partnership with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), integrating prediction markets into the Grok AI chatbot, has only added to its viral momentum.

QCEX nearing unicorn status

Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX just as the company nears unicorn status.

A new $200 million funding round, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, would place the company’s valuation near $1 billion.

This surge in investor confidence reflects the prediction market’s rising influence in both tech and financial circles.

Industry analysts see the acquisition as a game-changer.

“With QCEX under its wing, Polymarket now has the regulatory ammunition to compete directly with U.S.-based platforms like Kalshi,”
— Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant Fund.

“This deal is not just about compliance — it’s about staking a claim in the future of opinion markets in America,”
— Noelle Acheson, crypto analyst and author of Crypto Is Macro Now.

The acquisition positions Polymarket to quickly scale in the U.S., but it also raises questions. Will regulators continue to support prediction markets? Will Polymarket face renewed scrutiny if it allows trading on politically sensitive events? For now, the message is clear:

Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX and is ready to reclaim the American stage — not from the sidelines, but from the center of the trading arena.

Polymarket’s power move reshapes U.S. crypto landscape

With Polymarket acquiring derivatives exchange QCEX, the platform has solidified its comeback into the U.S. market.

This bold acquisition signals that Polymarket Acquires Derivatives Exchange QCEX isn’t just a headline—it’s a seismic shift.

As Polymarket acquires derivatives exchange QCEX, regulatory hurdles are cleared, new opportunities arise, and market sentiment turns bullish.