What QCEX does

QCEX is the legal and regulatory infrastructure layer for Polymarket's US prediction market operations, operating as QCX LLC (d.b.a. Polymarket US) for exchange services and QC Clearing LLC (d.b.a. Polymarket Clearing) for clearing services. It holds dual CFTC designations as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), providing the only federally regulated venue through which blockchain-based event contracts can be offered to US retail and institutional participants. The platform currently supports binary contracts on real-world events, with the initial US rollout focused on sports categories and planned expansion into election and financial outcomes.

Core technology consists of a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing stack delivered through two distinct websites — polymarketexchange.com (DCM) and polymarketclearing.com (DCO) — providing end-to-end vertically integrated execution and clearing for event contracts under federal oversight. Polymarket acquired QCEX for $112 million in July 2025 specifically to obtain this regulatory framework after a 2022 CFTC settlement had required US user geoblocking; full CFTC approval for trading through brokerages and futures commission merchants followed in November 2025.

The revenue model is transaction-based, generating exchange and clearing fees on each contract traded and cleared through the platform. Polymarket achieved a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate within six weeks of US launch through this infrastructure, and QCEX transitioned to a monetized fee schedule in February 2026. The customer base is concentrated by design: Polymarket is both the sole enterprise client and the parent owner, with end-user traders reached indirectly through Polymarket's consumer platform and its broker/FCM distribution channels.

Name

QCEX

Legal name

QCX LLC

Website

https://qcex.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

QCEX is a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, now operating as Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing following a $112M acquisition by Polymarket in July 2025 to provide federally compliant infrastructure for blockchain-based prediction market trading in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prediction Market Exchange Infrastructure

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Listed Derivatives CCPs (Futures & Options) (FSAFAFAA)

Keywords

• Regulated derivatives exchange
• Event contract clearing
• Prediction market infrastructure
• CFTC-regulated exchange
• Designated contract market

Headquarters

HQ city

Boca Raton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Exchange and Clearing Fees: QCEX generates revenue through transaction fees and clearing services for prediction market contracts traded on its regulated platform, serving as the underlying infrastructure for Polymarket's US operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

QCEX operates as a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), providing exchange and clearing infrastructure for event-based prediction market contracts. Following its July 2025 acquisition by Polymarket for $112 million, QCEX (QCX LLC) operates the regulated entities Polymarket US (DCM at polymarketexchange.com) and Polymarket Clearing (DCO at polymarketclearing.com) to enable legally compliant prediction market trading in the United States.

Product overview

QCEX operates as a CFTC-regulated crypto prediction market infrastructure provider consisting of two regulated entities: Polymarket Exchange (DCM) for exchange services and Polymarket Clearing (DCO) for clearing services, both operating under Polymarket US branding. The infrastructure enables blockchain-based prediction market trading with federal regulatory approval, facilitating Polymarket's re-entry into the US market after a 2022 CFTC settlement required geoblocking of US users.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polymarket Exchange (DCM) CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market operated by QCX LLC d.b.a. Polymarket US, providing exchange services for trading prediction market event contracts covering elections, sports, and financial outcomes.
• Polymarket Clearing (DCO) CFTC-regulated Derivatives Clearing Organization operated by QC Clearing LLC d.b.a. Polymarket Clearing, providing clearing services for prediction market event contracts traded on the DCM.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1 billion annualized revenue run rate achieved by Polymarket within six weeks of US launch via QCEX infrastructure

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kalshi: CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market offering event-contract prediction markets on elections, economics, and other outcomes. Directly competes with QCEX for the same US prediction market participants and regulatory pathway.
• ForecastEx (Interactive Brokers): CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market operated by Interactive Brokers for trading forecast and event-based contracts. Competes directly with QCEX for regulated US prediction market volume, with deep brokerage distribution via IBKR.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group: Largest US derivatives exchange operator, running CFTC-regulated DCMs and DCOs across futures and options asset classes. While not focused on prediction markets, CME represents the established regulatory infrastructure benchmark against which QCEX's DCM/DCO model is judged.
• Coinbase: Largest US-regulated crypto exchange with growing derivatives business. Comparable as a US-regulated trading venue, though focused on spot crypto and digital-asset derivatives rather than prediction/event contracts.
• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): Major CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange operator (parent of NYSE) and a strategic investor in Polymarket. Provides institutional-grade derivatives infrastructure and clearing, comparable to QCEX's DCM/DCO structure but at vastly greater scale and asset-class breadth.
• CBOE Global Markets: CFTC/SEC-regulated exchange operator for options, futures, and volatility products. Operates regulated DCM infrastructure comparable to QCEX but across a much broader multi-asset product suite.

Emerging players

• Robinhood: Retail trading platform that has launched prediction market offerings (event contracts) for US users. Competes for the same retail prediction market audience QCEX/Polymarket targets via a different regulatory and clearing pathway.
• Nodal Exchange: CFTC-registered DCM and DCO for environmental and financial derivatives. Operates comparable regulated exchange/clearing infrastructure to QCEX though in different asset classes (power, environmental, treasury).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about QCEX