JPMorgan Chase ended banking services for crypto-based prediction market Polymarket in October last year, citing regulatory concerns around the industry. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported the move, both citing unnamed sources.
The bank did not disclose specifics, but the legal status of prediction markets remains contested. Authorities in more than a dozen US states are pushing to regulate such platforms under gambling laws. Operators argue their product is a financial instrument, not a wager, and falls under federal jurisdiction. Despite the split, Polymarket said it maintains 'active relationships' with JPMorgan through other channels. CEO Shayne Coplan spoke at three bank events over the year and was invited to a private JPMorgan banking conference in February.
Debanking — banks refusing to serve clients on political or reputational grounds — has become a pressure point for the crypto industry. In August last year US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the practice. Lawyers warn that banks caught debanking face regulatory consequences.
Polymarket runs on the Polygon blockchain and uses the USDC stablecoin. In April the platform raised a funding round at a $15bn valuation and is now in talks to raise $1bn at a valuation above $20bn. Intercontinental Exchange, operator of the New York Stock Exchange, invested $2bn in Polymarket last year at a $9bn valuation.
In early October Polymarket signed partnerships with the New York Yankees baseball club and ATP Tour. Lawyers view such deals as a misstep: a platform with 80% sports volume looks like a sportsbook, not a prediction market, and opens itself to fresh lawsuits.
