Binance.US prediction markets plan heads toward CFTC application

Binance.US prediction markets are moving closer to a formal regulatory bid, with the crypto exchange preparing to apply to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for permission to operate a Designated Contract Market, according to Crypto in America journalist Eleanor Terrett. Terrett said Wednesday on X that Binance.US CEO Stephen Gregory discussed the plan on stage at Rare Evo: A Blockchain Event, and that the application is expected next month.

The proposed filing would mark a further step in Binance.US’s effort to expand its U.S. product set after a difficult period for the exchange. Terrett said the plan fits with a return strategy built around lower trading costs and offerings beyond spot crypto trading, including prediction markets and perpetual contracts.

What is Binance.US seeking from the CFTC?

Binance.US plans to seek Designated Contract Market status, Terrett reported. A DCM is a CFTC-regulated exchange venue that can list standardized derivatives contracts for trading under the agency’s rules.

Prediction markets let users trade contracts tied to the outcome of specified events. Prices can move as traders reassess the probability of an outcome, while the regulated structure determines which contracts may be listed, how they trade and how obligations are settled.

Binance.US has not announced an approved launch. The plan described by Terrett would begin with an application to the CFTC, leaving the timing and scope of any eventual offering subject to regulatory review.

How does the plan fit Binance.US’s comeback effort?

Gregory became chief executive of Binance.US in March. In the company’s announcement of his appointment, Binance.US described him as a lawyer with experience building regulated crypto infrastructure firms and expertise in digital asset compliance and regulatory matters.

In that release, Gregory said Binance.US was ready to start a new phase as a platform for U.S. crypto investors to buy, trade and earn digital assets. He also said the company aimed to take advantage of opportunities then available in the market.

Reports in April said Binance.US was working to rebuild its position in the American crypto market, with potential expansion beyond spot trading into derivatives and prediction markets. Gregory was described at the time as leading the company’s U.S. reentry and its push into products outside basic trading.

Gregory said then that Binance.US was looking at prediction markets among other areas, according to the April report. He said prediction markets were drawing broad attention in the market.

The exchange’s recent history has included legal pressure from U.S. authorities. Binance.US had faced lawsuits from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice; the SEC dismissed its case last summer, according to the report.

Who else is moving into prediction markets?

Binance.US would be pursuing the category as other crypto-linked platforms expand into event-based markets. Coinbase said in December that it would allow access to prediction markets in the United States.

Gemini Space Station, a cryptocurrency and prediction markets platform, said in May that it received a $100 million strategic investment. Gemini said the funding would support its expansion from a crypto company into a broader markets company.

The competition underscores why a CFTC filing would be closely watched by crypto market participants. For Binance.US, the application would test whether a U.S. exchange that has focused on spot crypto trading can gain regulatory clearance to add a more complex, event-driven trading venue.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.