Polymarket launches Perps perpetual futures with 20x leverage, excludes U.S.
In brief
- Polymarket launched Perps perpetual futures September 3, expanding from 10 to 67 markets within hours
- Crypto, S&P 500, oil, gold, silver trade at up to 20x leverage
- Individual stocks capped at 10x leverage under Polymarket's terms
- U.S. traders barred from accessing Perps due to regulatory restrictions
Leverage caps vary by asset class
Polymarket's documentation caps crypto, the S&P 500, oil, gold, and silver at 20x leverage, while individual stocks max out at 10x. A fully leveraged 20x position can be liquidated after losing roughly 2.5% of its posted margin, according to the platform's maintenance margin rules.
The leverage structure reflects how perpetual futures work. A perp tracks its underlying asset's price continuously with no expiration date, and a funding rate moves payments between long and short traders every hour to keep the contract anchored to spot. This differs from traditional options or dated futures contracts that expire on a fixed date.
Polymarket first teased the Perps feature in April with a 10x leverage cap before raising it to 20x for certain assets. The move marks an expansion into derivatives trading, though not without regulatory baggage. The company settled with the CFTC in 2022 for $1.4 million after running an unregistered swaps facility, and that history shapes the current product's geographic limits.
Geo-restrictions keep U.S. traders out
None of it reaches Polymarket's American users. The company's own FAQ bars order placement from the United States, Canada, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk. The restriction stems from U.S. regulatory uncertainty around derivatives platforms and the CFTC's historical enforcement posture.
Rivals are moving faster in regulated markets. The CFTC approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual futures contract on May 29, positioning Kalshi as a CFTC-regulated option for U.S. traders seeking crypto derivatives. Hyperliquid is already in negotiations with Kraken parent company Payward to open itself up to U.S. traders as well, signaling that global platforms are pursuing regulatory pathways to reach the American market.
Polymarket's Perps launch shows how prediction markets are experimenting with new product lines. The speed of market expansion (10 to 67 in hours) suggests demand for leveraged exposure to crypto and commodities. Whether the platform can secure similar regulatory approvals to serve U.S. traders remains an open question.
