At 13:00 UTC on October 13, 2026, Blockchain.com said it had filed for registration as a futures commission merchant and designation as a designated contract market with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The filing announcement did not give an application number or approval timetable.
The two applications cover different parts of a regulated derivatives service. Designated contract market status would allow Blockchain.com to run an exchange. Futures commission merchant registration would cover accepting customer orders and assets. Blockchain.com said the combined structure could support crypto futures, options, and event contracts for US retail and institutional customers if regulators approve both applications.
What the two applications cover
The CFTC describes a designated contract market as a board of trade or exchange operating under its oversight. These markets resemble traditional futures exchanges and may admit retail customers. A designated contract market can list futures or options based on a commodity, index, or other instrument.
That designation carries an operating framework, not simply permission to add a product tab. The CFTC says Part 38 of its regulations sets the procedures and requirements for an exchange. A venue that wants to offer futures, options on futures, or commodity options to participants who are not eligible contract participants generally must apply for designated contract market status unless an exemption or exclusion applies.
The futures commission merchant application addresses the customer-facing side. The National Futures Association defines an FCM as an entity that solicits or accepts orders for futures, options on futures, retail off-exchange foreign exchange contracts, or swaps and accepts customer money or other assets supporting those orders. The NFA also says every registered FCM must be an NFA member.
The CFTC delegated FCM registration to the NFA in 1984. The NFA process requires a firm to file Form 7-R, complete an NFA membership application, satisfy compliance requirements, file a member questionnaire, and pay the application fee and membership dues. Principals and associated persons face separate filing, fingerprinting, and proficiency requirements. One principal must serve as the FCM’s chief compliance officer.
This division matters for customers because an exchange designation and an intermediary registration answer separate questions. The designated contract market controls where eligible contracts are listed and traded. The futures commission merchant accepts orders and customer assets used to support them. Blockchain.com’s announcement says it is seeking both roles rather than directing users to an unrelated exchange or broker. Approval remains a condition for the US service described in the release.
What Blockchain.com proposes
Blockchain.com said approval would let it bring regulated crypto derivatives, including futures and options, and prediction-market contracts to US customers. The company wants those products inside its existing app for both retail and institutional users. Its stated plan is to combine digital-asset management, derivatives trading, and positions on real-world events in one interface under CFTC oversight.
The applications concern a future regulated US offering. They do not announce that the contracts are live. Blockchain.com already offers self-custodied prediction markets and perpetual futures in eligible markets outside the proposed US framework, according to the company release. It described the new filings as a route toward bringing similar prediction markets and regulated trading products directly to US users.
For a user, the practical change would be account consolidation if the applications are approved and the products launch. A Blockchain.com customer could access spot-oriented crypto services, event contracts, and regulated derivatives through the same app. The filing does not identify which crypto assets would underlie the first futures or options, which events would be listed, what collateral would be accepted, or how customer assets would be held. Those details will determine whether the product is useful to traders who currently move funds among separate venues.
For market operators, designated contract market status would place product listing inside the CFTC framework described on the agency’s site. The CFTC says designated contract markets can list futures or options based on any underlying commodity, index, or instrument. The designation process is therefore broader than approval of one named contract, but each eventual product and rule set would still sit within the exchange’s regulatory obligations. Blockchain.com did not name a clearing organization, market launch partner, or initial contract in the announcement.
The regulatory position
Blockchain.com presented the applications as the US leg of a wider licensing program. The company said it had obtained Markets in Crypto-Assets authorization through the Malta Financial Services Authority in the European Union, registration with the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, and a virtual asset service provider license in the Cayman Islands during the past year. Those approvals do not substitute for the requested CFTC statuses in the United States.
The announcement also separates the filing from a completed authorization. Blockchain.com repeatedly conditions the proposed US products on approval. The CFTC’s designated contract market guidance points applicants to Section 5 of the Commodity Exchange Act and Part 38 of the agency’s regulations. The NFA page sets out a separate registration and membership process for an FCM. The company must therefore clear both tracks before it can deliver the combined exchange-and-intermediary model described in the release.
The filing also leaves the customer-protection structure unspecified. The announcement does not say whether Blockchain.com would custody margin directly, use another FCM, or separate crypto services from regulated derivatives accounts. Those choices affect how users fund positions and where they direct account or withdrawal disputes.
The next milestone is a public regulatory outcome or a company disclosure identifying the first contracts, clearing arrangement, and launch date. None appeared in the October 13 announcement. Until then, US users have an application and a proposed product scope, not access to a new regulated market.
