Polymarket US vs international Polymarket
They share a brand but are separate exchanges. Polymarket US is CFTC-regulated, KYC'd and dollar-funded with a mostly uniform fee rate; the international site uses crypto, category fees and the UMA oracle.
Side-by-side comparison
| Polymarket (international) | Polymarket US | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Crypto prediction market | Regulated exchange |
| Regulator | Not registered in the US; restricted or blocked in 40+ countries and regions | CFTC (Designated Contract Market). Operated by QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US, acquired by Polymarket in July 2025 for about $112M. |
| Who can use it | Countries not geoblocked by Polymarket or national regulators | US, 18+. Third-party reviews report 40+ states, or 49 states plus DC with Nevada excluded (sources conflict). 'Not available in all jurisdictions.' The New York AG is suing (see notes). |
| Fees | Taker fee = shares × feeRate × p × (1 − p); feeRate 0 (geopolitics) to 0.07 (crypto). Makers pay $0 and earn rebates. No deposit or withdrawal fee. | Official docs (docs.polymarket.us/fees, Oct 2026): Taker fee = Theta x C x p x (1-p), with standard taker Theta = 0.0695 (about $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50c). Table tennis Theta = 0.10. Combo taker fee = C x p x [0.0695 x (1-p) + 0.06 x (1-p)^4]. Unlike the international site, there are no per-category rates. Theta history: flat 0.10% taker fee until Apr 3, 2026, then 0.05, then 0.06 from Jul 1, 2026 (CFTC filing), now 0.0695. Makers pay no fee. A flat -0.0125 maker rebate was replaced on Oct 19, 2026 by volume tiers: none below $10M monthly, then -0.0035 / -0.0070 / -0.0104. Taker rebate tiers from Oct 19, 2026: 0% below $250k, then 3% / 5% / 10% / 15% / 30% at $50M+. Fees use banker's rounding to the cent. Polymarket charges no deposit or withdrawal fees, though card processors may. |
| Funding | Crypto from many chains, converted to pUSD on Polygon | Debit card, ACH bank transfer, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, USDC (iPhone, where available), wire ($5,000 min). $50k daily limit on card and ACH. USD-denominated, no wallet needed. |
| Identity checks | Email or wallet sign-up | Yes. Government-issued photo ID. Accounts typically go live within 24-48 hours. |
| Markets | Politics, geopolitics, crypto, sports, economics, culture, weather, tech | Sports-heavy: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football and basketball, soccer (World Cup), tennis, golf, UFC/MMA, boxing, motorsports, esports, cricket, table tennis, darts and more. Contract types include moneylines, spreads, totals, props, futures, combos and RFQ (combos generally available Oct 1, 2026). Economics (Fed, CPI, jobs) and election markets were added in April 2026. Crypto price markets (Up/Down, Above/Below, One-Touch, settled on CF Benchmarks BRTI) were in preprod as of Sept 21, 2026. Fewer culture and geopolitics markets than the international site. |
| How outcomes are settled | Written rules + UMA Optimistic Oracle; disputes decided by UMA token-holder vote | Centralized, by the exchange: no UMA oracle. Outcomes come from the sources named in each contract's rules (league results, BLS/NWS government data, CF Benchmarks indices, named news outlets). 'All resolutions are final' under the Polymarket US Exchange Rulebook. Winning shares pay $1.00. |
| Recent volume | About $4.6B notional in the 30 days to 18 October 2026 (DeFi Rate data) | September 2026: about $8.8B notional (11% share; roughly double August), per DeFi Rate. Weekly: $2.83B (Sept 21-27) and $2.71B (Sept 28-Oct 4, 2026). About 12% of 24h volume on Oct 19, 2026. |
Polymarket US: strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Legal for US residents, with USD funding by card, PayPal, Venmo and Apple Pay
- Fast-growing liquidity, now the clear #2 US venue
- Volume rebates for very large traders (from $250k monthly taker or $10M maker volume)
- Same brand and much of the market lineup as the global Polymarket
Weaknesses
- Single taker Theta of 0.0695 is steeper than international Polymarket's category rates (e.g. 0.03-0.05 on sports, 0 on geopolitics)
- Narrower catalog than international Polymarket (fewer geopolitics and culture markets)
- Centralized resolution with no on-chain dispute process
- State legal challenges (New York lawsuit)
What changed in 2026
App launched December 2025 (invite-only, sports only), the waitlist was removed in May 2026, and the April 3, 2026 fee model replaced the flat 0.10% fee. On Sept 24, 2026, Governor Hochul and AG James sued QCX LLC d/b/a Polymarket US, alleging unlicensed gambling (including access for 18-20 year olds) and seeking an injunction, forfeiture, restitution and treble fines. A Sept 2026 rule filing set a $5,000 fee for trade-review requests. The tiered rebate restructure took effect Oct 19, 2026. Fee data note: some third-party sites still list category rates (4% / 5% / 7%) for Polymarket US, but the official docs show a single Theta.
Which should you choose?
You don't really choose: US residents must use Polymarket US, and the international site is close-only for them. Elsewhere, Polymarket US is not an option. The practical differences are funding (dollars vs crypto), fees (mostly one rate of θ 0.0695 vs 0–0.07 by category) and how disputes work (final exchange decision vs UMA vote).
Ready to try it? Check it is available where you live, then open Polymarket.
Open PolymarketFigures checked in October 2026. Fees and availability change often; confirm on each platform's own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Polymarket US better than Polymarket?
It depends on where you live and what you trade. They share a brand but are separate exchanges. Polymarket US is CFTC-regulated, KYC'd and dollar-funded with a mostly uniform fee rate; the international site uses crypto, category fees and the UMA oracle.
Which is cheaper, Polymarket or Polymarket US?
Polymarket: Taker fee = shares × feeRate × p × (1 − p); feeRate 0 (geopolitics) to 0.07 (crypto). Makers pay $0 and earn rebates. No deposit or withdrawal fee. Polymarket US: Official docs (docs.polymarket.us/fees, Oct 2026): Taker fee = Theta x C x p x (1-p), with standard taker Theta = 0.0695 (about $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50c). Table tennis Theta = 0.10. Combo taker fee = C x p x [0.0695 x (1-p) + 0.06 x (1-p)^4]. Unlike the international site, there are no per-cat