Polymarket's path back to the United States runs through polymarket.us, its domestic trading venue, while polymarket.com remains view-only for US visitors. The split setup reflects the company's strategy of pursuing US re-entry through regulated channels rather than relitigating past enforcement actions.
The view-only status of the main site is a visible reminder of the company's history with US regulators. American users can browse markets and prices on polymarket.com but cannot trade there; domestic trading is directed to polymarket.us, which operates under the federal framework that governs US derivatives venues.
The re-entry effort hinges on the CFTC's Part 40 self-certification process, the same mechanism other venues use to list new contracts. Filings under Part 40 are public and typically precede new listings, which makes them the earliest observable signal of what Polymarket plans to offer American traders.
Market watchers are focused on which contract categories appear first on the US venue. Sports and politics contracts carry the most regulatory sensitivity, and the sequencing of listings will reveal how aggressively Polymarket intends to test the boundaries of its US permissions.
The competitive context has shifted while Polymarket was away. Kalshi, Robinhood, Fanatics Markets, and others have built substantial US event-contract businesses, so Polymarket is re-entering a market that is far more crowded than the one it left. Its global brand and liquidity are advantages, but domestic incumbents have a head start on distribution and regulatory relationships.
The two-site structure also creates interesting data dynamics. With Americans able to view but not trade on polymarket.com, the global order books reflect international sentiment while polymarket.us develops its own domestic liquidity. Over time, traders expect the two pools to inform each other, though regulatory walls keep them formally separate. How quickly the US venue builds depth comparable to its global sibling is the metric competitors are watching most closely.
For the industry, a full Polymarket US return would be the single biggest competitive event on the horizon. Until the filings and listings materialize, the re-entry remains a work in progress, and the Part 40 docket is the place to watch.