Polymarket US review: is it legal, what it costs and how the $25 credit works

Verdict: Polymarket US is the CFTC-regulated, dollar-based US version of Polymarket, and its main advantage is cost transparency. Its fee schedule is official and public: takers pay marginally less than on Kalshi ($1.74 against $1.75 on 100 contracts at 50¢), and makers are paid a rebate instead of charged. It suits US residents who place limit orders, want a clearly documented $25 new-user credit, and like its sports, politics, crypto and tech menu. It is a weaker choice if you expected the global polymarket.com (a different product), if you use Android and need a confirmed app, or if you want a published list of the states where it operates, which Polymarket US does not provide.

This is a documentary review built from Polymarket US’s own documentation, CFTC records and state filings, checked on October 4, 2026. We have not opened an account or traded, and we give no score.

Polymarket US at a glance

Operator

QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US

Launched

QCX designated a contract market Jul 9, 2025; US app launched Dec 2025 (invite-only); waitlist removed May 2026

Regulatory status

CFTC-designated contract market and clearinghouse (DCM + DCO)

Availability

US app for US residents. Polymarket's documentation does not publish a state list; third-party reports say it is unavailable in Nevada.

Not available in

NV

Structure

Exchange and clearinghouse; separate from the offshore polymarket.com

Market categories

Sports, Politics, Crypto, Economics, Weather, Tech, Culture

Trading fees

Taker fee 0.0695 × contracts × P × (1−P), so at most $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50¢. Makers earn a rebate.

Minimum deposit

$10 qualifies for the deposit incentive. Wire deposits have a $5,000 minimum.

Settlement

Binary $1/$0 contracts traded on a central limit order book

Funding methods

Debit card, ACH (via Aeropay), Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, USDC (iPhone), Wire

Withdrawal methods

Bank / card (per Polymarket US docs)

Mobile apps

iOS: Yes · Android: Not verified

Facts last verified

October 4, 2026

Still being verified: Official state restriction list; Minimum age; Android app availability. We leave these out until we can confirm them with a primary source.

Who Polymarket US is for, and who should skip it

Polymarket US fits you if you trade with limit orders and want the maker rebate, you want a dated fee schedule you can check line by line, or you prefer a modest documented credit ($25 for a $10 deposit) to an affiliate-advertised bonus.

Consider skipping it if you live in Nevada, where it is reported to be unavailable; you specifically want the markets or crypto wallet of polymarket.com; or you prefer a platform that publishes its state coverage officially.

Company, ownership and history

Polymarket US is the trading name of QCX LLC. The CFTC designated QCX as a contract market on July 9, 2025, and Polymarket US documentation describes it as both an exchange (DCM) and a clearinghouse (DCO). Polymarket acquired the business, then known as QCEX, in July 2025 for a reported $112 million. According to CoinDesk, the CFTC issued an amended designation in November 2025 allowing trading through intermediaries.

The US app opened on an invite-only basis in December 2025, and the waitlist was removed in May 2026, according to secondary reports. Some press dates the “US re-entry” differently, and we have not resolved that conflict in official sources. Trade press also reported a funding round at a $21 billion valuation in August 2026.

Polymarket US is not polymarket.com. The global site runs on crypto rails and restricts US users. Our Polymarket US vs Polymarket explainer covers the differences in detail.

Regulation and legal status

Federally, Polymarket US is regulated by the CFTC as an exchange and clearinghouse. Its contracts are listed under a rulebook filed with the CFTC, and its trades clear through its own registered clearing organization.

At the state level, it faces the same sports-contract fight as Kalshi, though it is earlier in the courts. As of October 4, 2026:

• New York: the Attorney General and Governor sued QCX LLC on September 24, 2026, and Polymarket countersued in federal court. Our report on New York’s suit against Polymarket US covers both filings.
• Kentucky, Wisconsin, Rhode Island and the City of Baltimore have also sued.
• Michigan: a federal court denied Polymarket US a preliminary injunction against the Attorney General on June 17, 2026, according to a docket-based tracker.
• Massachusetts: Polymarket sued the Attorney General on February 9, 2026.
• Minnesota: the state’s prediction-market ban was enjoined on July 27, 2026 as to Kalshi and Polymarket US.
• Nevada: state regulators obtained a temporary restraining order against Blockratize, a Polymarket entity, on January 29, 2026, according to the same tracker.

Federal appeals courts are split on whether state gambling law applies to sports contracts on CFTC-regulated exchanges, and the Supreme Court has been asked to decide. None of those appellate cases involves Polymarket US directly. Follow developments on our prediction market legal tracker.

Where Polymarket US is available

Polymarket US documentation does not publish a state list. Third-party reports say it is not available in Nevada and that it blocks Arizona; reports that its sports contracts are blocked in Maryland and Michigan are unconfirmed. The minimum age is also not stated in the documentation we reviewed. The app’s location check is the reliable answer for where you are.

Getting started: what the documentation covers

Polymarket US documents funding and incentives in detail but not a screen-by-screen signup flow, so these points come from its funding, incentive and referral pages:

• Device: the documented app is for iPhone. USDC deposits are listed for iPhone only, and we found no confirmed Android app.
• First deposit: $10 or more qualifies for the $25 Deposit Incentive. Debit and ACH deposits are capped at $50,000 a day, and wires have a $5,000 minimum, so small first deposits go by card, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal or Venmo.
• Referrals: if a friend referred you, the $25 refer-a-friend credit is paid when you deposit $10 or more, so use their referral before funding the account.

Offer and referral program

Polymarket US publishes its incentives in its user programs documentation, verified October 4, 2026. There is no promo code to enter.

• Deposit Incentive: deposit $10 or more and receive a $25 trading credit.
• Refer-a-friend: when a referred user deposits $10 or more, both people receive $25. An account can refer up to 50 people.
• Deposit and trading campaigns: the documentation lists campaigns that pay daily credits over five days: $5 a day for a $50 deposit, $10 a day for $100, $20 a day for $250, and $50 a day for $500.
• Lifetime cap: $2,000 in incentive credits.
• Withdrawals: credits themselves cannot be withdrawn; settlement proceeds from trades made with credits can.

Compare these terms with other platforms on our prediction market promotions page.

Markets and products

Polymarket US lists sports (including NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, college sports, tennis and golf), politics, crypto, economics, weather, tech and culture. Contracts are binary: each pays $1 if its outcome occurs and $0 if it does not. They trade on a central limit order book, where prices are set by users’ bids and offers rather than by a house.

A contract’s price approximates the market’s implied probability, but the bid-ask spread and fees mean it is not an exact probability. Liquidity varies by market. Polymarket US’s order book is separate from polymarket.com’s, so volume figures quoted for the global site do not describe the US exchange. Settlement follows each contract’s rules; our guide to how prediction markets settle covers how outcomes are determined and disputed. Combo (multi-leg) contracts are also offered, with their own fee formula.

Polymarket US fees

Polymarket US publishes its schedule in its official fee documentation, effective 10 a.m. ET on October 1, 2026:

• Taker fee = 0.0695 × contracts × P × (1 − P), where P is the price in dollars.
• Maker rebate = 0.0125 × contracts × P × (1 − P), paid to the resting order.
• Combo taker fee = contracts × P × [0.0695 × (1 − P) + 0.06 × (1 − P)⁴].
• Fees are rounded to the cent using banker’s rounding.
• Takers with monthly volume of $250,000 to $999,999 get a 10% volume rebate, $1 million to $9.99 million gets 25%, and $10 million or more gets 50%.

Reports of a 0.06 taker coefficient refer to the previous schedule; our news report on the October 1 fee change compares the two.

Worked example: 100 Yes contracts at 50¢, bought as a taker

Had the same order rested on the book and been filled as a maker, the trader would have received a rebate of $0.31 (0.0125 × 100 × 0.25 = $0.3125) instead of paying $1.74. At 10¢ or 90¢ the taker fee falls to $0.63 and the maker rebate to $0.11. Kalshi charges the same $0.63 at those prices and $1.75 at 50¢; the gap between the two exchanges is mainly on the maker side. See our guide to prediction market fees for other platforms.

Deposits and withdrawals

Polymarket US documentation lists these deposit methods: debit card, ACH bank transfer (via Aeropay), Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, USDC (on iPhone) and wire. Debit and ACH deposits are limited to $50,000 a day, and wires have a $5,000 minimum.

Withdrawals go to bank or card, and the documentation describes them as free. We have not tested withdrawal times.

Mobile apps

Polymarket US offers an iPhone app. We have not confirmed an Android app in official documentation as of October 4, 2026.

Safety and customer protections

Polymarket US holds both registrations itself: QCX LLC is the exchange and the clearinghouse, so trades clear through a CFTC-registered clearing organization rather than on the crypto rails the global polymarket.com uses. Standard binary positions are fully paid for, so the most you can lose on one is its cost plus fees.

Its risks are mostly legal and institutional. New York’s suit is the most direct threat to availability, and secondary reports in 2026 described a CFTC inquiry and banking-relationship problems that we have not confirmed in official records. Regulation does not shield users from a state order that switches off a market.

Pros and cons

Alternatives to Polymarket US

• Kalshi has the longer regulated record (designated in 2020), more funding methods including Cash App and crypto, and a near-identical taker fee, but charges makers on some markets and is blocked for sports in five states. Read the Kalshi review and our Kalshi vs Polymarket comparison.
• Robinhood suits existing brokerage customers; its commission is capped at 1¢ per contract, plus an exchange fee of up to 1¢, and it publishes its state restrictions. See the Robinhood prediction markets review.
• FanDuel Predicts suits sports fans in its 18 eligible states and has an offer of up to $100 that ends October 20, 2026, though its 2%-of-payout fee costs more than Polymarket US’s at every price. See the FanDuel Predicts review.
• Novig charges nothing on pre-game straight sports trades and nothing to makers, but lists sports only. See the Novig review.

See all ranked options on the best prediction markets.

How we reviewed Polymarket US

This is a documentary review. On October 4, 2026 we read Polymarket US’s documentation on the company, fees, funding, withdrawals, incentives and referrals; the CFTC’s list of designated contract markets; and state attorney-general releases. Where we used trade press or trackers (the launch timeline, acquisition price, valuation, state availability and the Michigan and Nevada cases), we say so.

We have not opened an account, deposited or traded on Polymarket US. A hands-on testing log covering signup, fee receipts and withdrawal timing will be added once completed, and Polymarket US will not carry a score until then. Our methodology explains how we compare platforms.

Visit Polymarket US (opens the operator's site in a new tab)