Polymarket Enters Finance Sector with New ‘Up/Down’ Stock Markets
Polymarket, the decentralized prediction platform, has launched a new section dedicated to financial markets, including “up/down” contracts for stocks and indices. This is part of the platform’s re-entry into the U.S. market and its push to integrate prediction markets into mainstream finance.
The new feature allows users to bet on whether a specific stock or benchmark will close higher or lower within a set timeframe. For example, users can now trade “Up/Down Nvidia” contracts to speculate on the stock’s directional movement.
The new “Finance” section organizes contracts by categories, including Equities, Indices, Commodities, Earnings, and Fed Rates. The Wall Street Journal and Nasdaq are cited as the resolution sources for these financial contracts.
Regulated U.S. Relaunch
This expansion into stock prediction markets follows Polymarket’s fully regulated relaunch in the United States. In September 2025, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a “no-action” letter to QCX LLC and QC Clearing LLC, entities linked to Polymarket. This approval provided the legal green light for the platform to begin operating in the U.S.
The ability to operate legally stems from a significant move in July 2025: the acquisition of QCX LLC and QC Clearing LLC for $112 million.
This purchase provided Polymarket with a Designated Contract Market (DCM) license. This regulatory framework allows the platform to legally offer prediction markets in the country. The U.S. return comes after a nearly four-year ban. In January 2022, the CFTC fined the company $1.4 million and forced it to stop operating for running an “illegal unregistered facility” for event-based binary options.
Political and Financial Investment
The platform’s relaunch is supported by a large-scale investment from the traditional finance world. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announced a $2 billion investment, valuing the prediction market platform at over $8 billion. This major investment signals a push to embed prediction markets into the financial mainstream.
The company also has growing political connections. In August 2025, Donald Trump Jr. invested in Polymarket and joined its advisory board. The political and financial endorsements solidify the platform’s position as a legal and high-value player in the prediction market sector. Furthermore, investigations by the Department of Justice and the CFTC were closed in July 2025 with no further action taken, clearing a path for the company’s expansion.
With the new DCM license, Polymarket is now positioned to compete directly with Kalshi, another prediction market platform that secured a regulatory advantage in the U.S. after a court victory in 2024. The launch of “up/down” stock contracts and prior markets focused on corporate earnings reports shows a clear strategy to shift from its election-market origins toward traditional finance products.
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