JPMorgan Chase ended its banking relationship with Polymarket in late 2025 because of regulatory concerns, the Financial Times reported on August 14, citing people familiar with the matter. The bank told the prediction-market operator in October 2025 that it would need to find a new banking partner.
Polymarket has since moved to another, unnamed lender, according to the report. The bank’s decision came as Polymarket was working through a changing US regulatory position following a 2022 enforcement action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The relationship was not completely severed, however. JPMorgan has continued other dealings with Polymarket, including hosting CEO Shayne Coplan at a client event and expressing interest in potentially underwriting a future public offering, the FT reported.
JPMorgan Ends Banking Relationship
The FT report said JPMorgan notified Polymarket in October 2025 that it would need to find another banking partner. People familiar with the matter told the publication that regulatory concerns were behind the decision.
Neither JPMorgan nor Polymarket has publicly confirmed the details described in the report as of publication. The distinction matters because ending a banking relationship does not necessarily mean a bank has stopped doing business with a company altogether. In Polymarket’s case, JPMorgan has continued other interactions with the company despite ending the direct banking relationship.
The Crypto Times reached out to JPMorgan and Polymarket for comments. JPMorgan declined to comment, while Polymarket has not responded.
The Regulatory Backdrop
JPMorgan’s decision came against the backdrop of Polymarket’s earlier CFTC enforcement action. In January 2022, the CFTC ordered Blockratize, the company then operating Polymarket.com, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty and cease offering unregistered event-based binary options contracts. The regulator said Polymarket had operated an unregistered facility offering event-based binary options that were subject to CFTC jurisdiction.
Polymarket later established a regulated US operation through QCX LLC, doing business as Polymarket US. The CFTC designated QCX as a designated contract market in July 2025.
The regulatory transition continued through late 2025. In December, the CFTC issued a no-action position concerning certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements for Polymarket US and its participants.
That means JPMorgan’s decision should not be characterized simply as a response to Polymarket being an unregulated platform. By the time of the bank’s October 2025 notice, Polymarket’s US regulatory structure was already changing, while questions surrounding the broader business remained relevant to financial institutions.
JPMorgan Has Kept Other Polymarket Links
The FT report adds an important qualification to the banking decision. JPMorgan has continued to engage with Polymarket in other areas. The bank hosted Coplan at a client event in February 2026 and has reportedly shown interest in serving as an underwriter if Polymarket eventually pursues a public listing.
Those relationships suggest the decision was specific to the banking relationship rather than necessarily representing a complete withdrawal from Polymarket. The distinction is particularly relevant as prediction markets have expanded beyond their traditional crypto-market niche and attracted growing interest from institutional investors and Wall Street firms.
Regulatory Scrutiny Has Continued
Polymarket’s US regulatory position has continued to evolve since the JPMorgan decision. QCX LLC, operating as Polymarket US, remains listed by the CFTC as a designated contract market. At the same time, the broader prediction-market sector has faced increasing scrutiny from regulators and government bodies over issues including sports-related contracts, consumer protection and insider trading.
In June 2026, a CFTC court filing referenced a separate Kentucky case involving Polymarket US and described the company as a CFTC-regulated designated contract market. That ongoing scrutiny provides context for why regulatory risk can remain relevant to banks even as a prediction-market operator establishes regulated US entities.
The Broader Banking Question
The JPMorgan-Polymarket episode also comes as the crypto and prediction-market industries continue to debate banks’ willingness to provide financial services to companies operating in emerging markets. Crypto companies have frequently described the withdrawal or denial of banking services as “debanking,” while banks generally frame decisions to exit or restrict relationships around compliance, regulatory, counterparty and reputational risks.
The Polymarket case does not by itself establish that JPMorgan’s decision was part of a broader policy against crypto or prediction-market businesses. The FT report specifically attributed the decision to regulatory concerns surrounding Polymarket.
That distinction is important: a bank ending one commercial relationship over perceived regulatory risk is not evidence, by itself, of industry-wide discrimination against a particular sector.
What It Means for Polymarket
The immediate impact is that Polymarket has had to replace one of the world’s largest banks as a banking partner.
The development also highlights the difference between obtaining regulatory permissions and eliminating financial-institution risk. Polymarket US has obtained designated-contract-market status from the CFTC, but banks can still independently assess the regulatory and commercial risks associated with maintaining relationships with the company.
At the same time, JPMorgan’s continued engagement with Polymarket in other areas shows that the bank’s decision was not an across-the-board break with the company.
The Bottom Line
JPMorgan ended its banking relationship with Polymarket in October 2025 over regulatory concerns, according to the Financial Times, forcing the prediction-market operator to find another banking partner.
The decision came during Polymarket’s transition toward a regulated US operation and against a backdrop of continuing scrutiny of prediction markets. Yet JPMorgan has maintained other links with the company, including engagement with its CEO and reported interest in a potential future IPO mandate.
The episode therefore points to a more specific issue than a simple Wall Street rejection of prediction markets: regulatory approval can reduce uncertainty without eliminating the independent risk assessments banks make when deciding whom to serve.
This article does not characterize JPMorgan’s decision as evidence of wrongdoing or regulatory discrimination.
Updated on 12:55 UTC, August 14 to add JPMorgan’s update to The Crypto Times’ request.
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