Bitnomial Wins CFTC Approval to Clear Swaps, Opening Door to Prediction Markets

What Did the CFTC Approve for Bitnomial?

Bitnomial Clearinghouse LLC has secured approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to clear fully collateralized swaps, giving its parent company, Bitnomial, the green light to expand into prediction markets and offer clearing services to outside platforms. The decision widens the company’s regulatory footing at a time when interest in event-based trading is rising across traditional and blockchain markets.

With the new authorization, Bitnomial plans to launch prediction contracts tied to crypto and economic outcomes. These markets will sit alongside its existing suite of BTC and crypto derivatives, including perpetuals, futures, options and leveraged spot trading. The new swaps model allows contracts that let traders take views on token price levels, macroeconomic releases and other measurable results.

The clearinghouse already supports crypto-based margin and settlement, which means approved contracts can be margined or settled directly in digital assets instead of US dollars. Bitnomial said this flexibility is central to its infrastructure model.

Bitnomial president Michael Dunn said the approval lets the company serve “both our own platform and external partners, building a clearing network that strengthens the entire prediction market ecosystem.”

Investor Takeaway

How Does Bitnomial’s Clearing Model Work?

Unlike retail-facing platforms, Bitnomial Clearinghouse operates strictly as an infrastructure provider. Partners can plug into its margining and settlement systems, while Bitnomial handles the underlying collateral mechanics. The model allows approved platforms to convert collateral between dollars and crypto while keeping clearing operations inside a federally supervised environment.

This setup is similar to traditional clearinghouses but built with the option for digital-asset settlement, something few US-regulated venues currently offer. By keeping the business infrastructure-only, Bitnomial can service platforms, prediction markets and other trading platforms without competing directly for end users.

The swap-clearing approval follows another milestone earlier this year: a green light to operate a CFTC-regulated spot in the US. That approval enabled customers to trade on a federally supervised platform — a notable designation in a market where most crypto trading occurs offshore or under state-level licences.

Why Are Prediction Markets viewing a Surge?

Prediction markets have been one of the standout themes of 2025. Kalshi and Polymarket, the two quickest-growing platforms in the sector, have viewn look for ways to price political events, economic data, sports outcomes and crypto-related probabilities.

According to DefiLlama, Kalshi recorded $5.27 billion in trading volume over the past 30 days, while blockchain-based Polymarket posted just under $2 billion. This surge comes despite tight regulatory scrutiny in the US, where prediction markets sit in a narrow space between derivatives law and event-contract standards.

In November, the CFTC granted Polymarket permission to operate an intermediated platform that allows access through registered brokers. The approval arrived months later than the reanswer of a joint CFTC and into whether the platform had served US users without proper authorization. The probe included an FBI search of founder Shayne Coplan’s home in July.

Polymarket settles its contracts on the Polygon blockchain using USDC and has been extending its reach through partnerships. Recent deals include the UFC, Zuffa Boxing and fantasy-sports firm PrizePicks — all intended to attract mainstream audiences to event trading.

Investor Takeaway

What Does Bitnomial’s Approval Mean for the Sector?

Bitnomial’s expanded permissions put it in a small group of US-regulated entities that can clear swaps linked to crypto, economic indicators and other measurable outcomes. This aligns the company with a broader trend: event-contract markets growing alongside derivatives tied to digital assets.

With both a and a derivatives clearinghouse under its umbrella, Bitnomial can now support a wider set of partners and product types. The company’s focus on crypto settlement also diverseiates it from traditional clearinghouses, which still operate almost entirely in fiat.

As prediction markets scale, federal oversight will determine which platforms can operate in the US. Bitnomial’s latest approval suggests regulators are willing to license infrastructure providers that keep trading activity inside established derivatives frameworks while accommodating digital-asset collateral.