Today in Cryptocurrency: Polymarket has received approval to operate a brokerage trading platform in the United States. The UAE introduced a new financial law that puts cryptocurrencies under regulatory oversight, and cryptocurrency projects saw their second-best quarter of venture capital funding since Q3 2022.
Polymarket receives regulatory approval to operate US trading platform
Polymarket forecasting platform Obtained regulatory approval From the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate an intermediary trading platform.
In Tuesday’s notice, Polymarket He said The CFTC issued a revised designation order, which will allow the company to “operate a broker-dealer platform subject to the full set of requirements applicable to federally regulated U.S. exchanges.” According to Polymarket, the approval will result in the platform onboarding brokers and clients directly and facilitating trading in US venues.
“This approval allows us to operate in a way that reflects the maturity and transparency required by the US regulatory framework,” said Shane Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket.
Regulatory approval came about five months after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Department of Justice The investigation was closed To Polymarket regarding whether the platform accepts trades from users residing in the United States. The FBI reportedly said Coplan’s house was raided As part of the investigation into the prediction platform, his electronic devices were seized.
The prediction platform is subject to oversight and regulation from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) while operating in the United States. It is also possible that a market structure bill could pass through Congress Expanding CFTC authority On digital assets.
The new UAE financial law pulls DeFi and Web3 into the regulatory ambit
And the new Central Bank Law of the United Arab Emirates, Federal Decree Law No. (6) of 2025, Presents “one of the most important organizational transformations“For the region’s cryptocurrency industry, Irina Heffer, a local cryptocurrency lawyer and founder of NeosLegal, told Cointelegraph.
“It brings protocols, DeFi platforms, middleware, and even infrastructure providers into scope if they enable activities such as payment, exchange, lending, custody, or investment services,” Hever said.
According to the lawyer, industry projects being established or operated in the UAE must treat this as a pivotal regulatory milestone and align their systems before the transitional deadline of September 2026.
Issued Published in the Official Gazette and legally effective since September 16, 2025, Federal Decree Law No. 6 of the United Arab Emirates is a central bank law that regulates financial institutions and insurance businesses as well as activities related to digital assets.
Its key provisions, Article 61 and Article 62, provide a list of activities that require a license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), including cryptocurrency payments and digital stored value.
“Article 62 states that any person who practices, offers, issues or facilitates a licensed financial activity ‘through any means, means or technology’ falls within the regulatory scope of the UAE Central Bank,” Hever said.
In practice, this means that DeFi projects can no longer avoid regulation by claiming to be “just code,” the lawyer said, adding that the “decentralization” argument does not exempt the protocol from compliance.
Crypto VC activity reaches $4.6 billion in Q3
Venture capital investment focused on cryptocurrencies It reached $4.65 billion In the third quarter, it was the second-highest volume of activity since the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in late 2022 and decimated venture bets on cryptocurrencies.
Alex Thorne, head of research at Galaxy Digital, said in a press conference: a report Monday that Q3 Adventurous bets It was a 290% jump quarter-on-quarter and the largest quarter since the first quarter, which saw $4.8 billion in investments.
“Despite remaining below 2021-2022 bull market levels, project activity remains active and healthy overall,” Thorne said. “Sectors such as stablecoins, AI, blockchain infrastructure, and trading continue to attract deals and dollars, and pre-seed activity remains steady.”
The third quarter saw 414 venture deals, seven of which represented half of the capital raised during the quarter.
Those listed Fintech company Revolutwhich attracted $1 billion, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken with $500 million, and US cryptocurrency-focused bank Erebor with $250 million.
While companies established in 2018 accounted for most of the capital raised, while companies established in 2024 accounted for the largest number of deals.
