“Polymarket is banned in the US.” Outdated. “Polymarket is legal in the US.” Incomplete. Both sentences are wrong because they assume one Polymarket exists. Since December 2025, there are two.
The international exchange is the famous one: crypto-based, USDC deposits, the widest market list in the industry, and geoblocked for US residents under a 2022 settlement with the CFTC. That hasn’t changed.
Polymarket US is a separate product: a CFTC-regulated American venue (operated through QCX), with dollar deposits, full identity checks, and outcomes decided by the exchange under federal rules. That puts it closer to Kalshi than to its international namesake. It launched in December 2025, opened to iOS users in May 2026, and Android is still invite-code-only.
Same brand. Different regulation, different money, different systems for deciding who was right. Most online arguments about “Polymarket in the US” are two people describing different products.
If you’re in the US, the international exchange is still off-limits. Anyone selling you “access” to it is selling you a terms-of-service violation at best. The legal route carries the same logo and a different everything else. Full comparison of both against Kalshi: Polymarket vs Kalshi vs Polymarket US.
Nothing here is financial advice. Prediction markets involve real risk, so never trade money you can’t afford to lose.