Polymarket US vs Polymarket: what's the difference?

“Polymarket” now refers to two different things. One is a federally regulated US exchange with a phone app and bank funding. The other is the global crypto platform that made the name famous, which US residents are not allowed to use. They share a brand, not a rulebook.

The short answer

If you live in the US, Polymarket US is the only one of the two you can use.

How Polymarket US came about

Polymarket returned to the US by buying an exchange that already held a CFTC designation.

• July 9, 2025: QCX LLC was designated a contract market by the CFTC. Polymarket acquired QCEX for a reported $112 million in July 2025.
• November 2025: the CFTC issued an amended order of designation allowing intermediated trading, in which customers can come through brokers, according to CoinDesk.
• December 2, 2025: the US app launched on an invite-only basis.
• May 2026: the waitlist was removed, according to secondary reports.

Some outlets have described a Polymarket “US reentry” on July 23, 2026. That date conflicts with the December 2025 launch and we have not been able to verify it, so we do not rely on it.

Polymarket US describes itself as both a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organization, meaning it lists contracts and clears them. Its markets cover sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, college, tennis and golf), politics, crypto, economics, weather, tech and culture, traded as binary $1/$0 contracts on a central limit order book.

Funding and withdrawals

Polymarket US is funded in dollars. Its official documentation lists:

• Debit card
• ACH bank transfer (via Aeropay)
• Apple Pay
• PayPal and Venmo
• USDC (on iPhone)
• Wire transfer

Debit card and ACH deposits are limited to $50,000 a day, and wires have a $5,000 minimum. The documentation describes withdrawals as free.

The offshore platform is a crypto product and is not part of the regulated US market.

Fees

Polymarket US publishes an official schedule, effective 10 AM ET on Thursday, October 1, 2026:

• Taker fee: 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price). At 50¢, that is $1.74 per 100 contracts, the maximum.
• Maker rebate: 0.0125 × contracts × price × (1 − price), up to $0.31 per 100 contracts.
• Combos: C × p × [0.0695 × (1 − p) + 0.06 × (1 − p)^4].
• Volume rebates for takers: 10% at $250,000 to $999,999 a month, 25% at $1 million to $9.99 million, and 50% at $10 million or more.
• Rounding: banker’s rounding to $0.01.

Third-party reports of a 0.06 coefficient refer to the previous schedule; our report on the new fee schedule covers the change. For how this compares with Kalshi and others, see our fee guide.

Promotions

Polymarket US’s official incentive programs include a $25 credit when you deposit $10 or more, a refer-a-friend program in which both parties receive $25 when the new user deposits at least $10 (up to 50 referrals), and deposit-and-trade campaigns with a $2,000 lifetime cap. Credits cannot be withdrawn, but settlement proceeds from trades made with them can.

Legal actions involving Polymarket

Federal registration has not ended the legal fight. As of October 4, 2026:

• New York: Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul sued Polymarket US (QCX LLC) on September 24, 2026. Polymarket filed its own suit in federal court in Manhattan. Our news report on the New York lawsuit has the details.
• Kentucky: the attorney general sued several platforms, including Polymarket, in June 2026.
• Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Baltimore have also brought suits naming Polymarket, according to court trackers and local reporting.
• Nevada: the Gaming Control Board obtained a temporary restraining order against Blockratize, Polymarket’s parent company, in January 2026, according to secondary reports.
• Michigan: a federal court denied Polymarket US a preliminary injunction against the attorney general on June 17, 2026.
• Minnesota: the state’s ban on prediction markets was enjoined on July 27, 2026, as to Kalshi and Polymarket US.

Polymarket has also gone on offense, suing the Massachusetts attorney general in February 2026 and the New Mexico attorney general. For where each state stands, see our legal tracker.

Settlement differences

Polymarket US settles contracts under its own rules as a CFTC-regulated exchange, the same framework that applies to Kalshi and the other US venues. The offshore polymarket.com uses a different, crypto-based resolution process. Our guide to how markets settle explains what that means for disputes.

Which one can US users use?

Polymarket US. It is the CFTC-regulated product, it accepts bank and card funding, and it is designed for US residents. The global polymarket.com is restricted for US users.

Polymarket’s US documentation does not publish a state availability list. Third-party reports say the app is not available in Nevada and that sports contracts are blocked in some other states, but we have not confirmed this in official terms. Check the app in your location before depositing.