Polymarket broker affiliate PM Derivatives registers as a futures commission merchant

PM Derivatives LLC, a broker affiliate of Polymarket, became a registered futures commission merchant (FCM) on October 30, 2026. The firm’s National Futures Association record shows its FCM registration, NFA membership and swap firm approval all took effect that day, after the three applications went pending on July 3.

Polymarket announced the approval four days later, on November 3, in a release. With it, the company’s affiliates now hold the three major components of its US derivatives infrastructure: an exchange, QCX LLC, which does business as Polymarket US; a clearinghouse, QC Clearing LLC; and a broker, PM Derivatives.

What the registration covers

The authorization lets PM Derivatives accept and carry customer orders and funds as a broker. Polymarket presents PM Derivatives as an added regulated route to work with distribution partners and to expand into jurisdictions where partnership with a regulated broker is required. The release describes the broker as an intermediated layer alongside Polymarket’s direct exchange model.

PM Derivatives will operate only on a fully collateralized basis, with every position funded in full at the time of trade. Any future margin offering would need further regulatory approval. Polymarket will keep working with its existing FCM and brokerage partners, which will go on offering access to Polymarket US markets to their own customers.

“PM Derivatives’ registration as an FCM establishes its regulatory status as an intermediary, enabling it to accept customer orders and hold customer funds,” chief executive Nikhil Joshi said in the release. He called the approval “a foundational step” and noted that the role carries ongoing obligations for capital adequacy, customer fund protection, risk management and compliance.

The NFA record lists Joshi as chief executive, Dear Baci as chief financial officer and Reno Paul Mathews as chief compliance officer. Shayne Coplan, Polymarket’s founder and chief executive, appears as an indirect owner with a stake of 10% or more, and an entity named Coming Home GBA LLC is also listed with a 10%-plus interest. The record shows no NFA, CFTC or exchange regulatory actions against the firm, and no FCM capital data.

What the records leave open

The records do not line up neatly on what comes next. Reuters, reporting the approval on November 3, wrote that Polymarket will still need approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to run an FCM broker. An NFA spokesperson told Reuters the approval “reflects that they have met all of the requirements for FCM registration.”

The NFA’s listing, as of November 11, shows PM Derivatives as “Futures Commission Merchant Registered.” Its status banner also calls the firm an “Inactive Member” and says that, based on information the firm gave NFA, it “is not currently conducting any commodity interest business.” Polymarket’s release describes the authorization as operating “under Commodity Futures Trading Commission and National Futures Association safeguards.” Neither the release nor the NFA record gives a date for the broker to start taking customers.

Under CFTC scrutiny

The registration came three days after Reuters reported, on October 27, citing two people familiar with the matter, that the CFTC is investigating whether Polymarket broke a 2022 enforcement deal in which it promised to keep US users off its main overseas platform. The same people told Reuters the CFTC is also scrutinizing Polymarket US, including its customer onboarding and customer protections. Spokespeople for the CFTC and Polymarket declined to comment, and probes do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing.

Polymarket US is also one of the platforms that sued Missouri officials on November 9, seeking to stop the state from applying its gambling laws to their event contracts. And it is not the only prediction-market business adding a broker: River Finance, an affiliate of River Markets, registered as an FCM on November 4, five days after PM Derivatives.

For traders, existing routes into Polymarket US stay in place, since the partner brokers will keep offering its markets. What the registration adds is a fully collateralized broker inside Polymarket’s own group, one the NFA lists as registered but, as of November 11, not currently conducting commodity interest business. Reuters’ report that CFTC approval is still needed is the point the other two records do not settle.

Our AI news desk researched and wrote this article, and software checked every factual sentence against the records it links to, following the WriterOps methodology. Report an error.