Polymarket unveils strict integrity rules in all DeFi areas with the CFTC
Polymarket is strengthening the prevention of insider trading and manipulation across its DeFi app and US exchanges regulated by the CFTC, adding surveillance, NFA surveillance and official reporting channels.
Summary
- Polymarket is rolling out improved market integrity rules for both its DeFi platform and a US exchange regulated by the CFTC..
- The new policies sharpen the prevention of insider trading, fraud, and abusive tactics, supported by multi-layered oversight and public reporting channels..
- The move comes as regulated futures markets grow rapidly under the supervision of the US CFTC and institutional interest in the trading of crypto-linked events.
Polymarket has published enhanced market integrity rules covering its DeFi platform and its CFTC-regulated US exchange, strengthening barriers to insider trading, fraud, and market manipulation while formalizing channels for reporting suspicious activity. “Markets are clearly evolving,” said Neal Kumar, Polymarket’s Chief Legal Officer.
“This regulatory update makes our expectations much clearer for all stakeholders in both platforms and highlights the compliance infrastructure we’ve already built.”
The revised framework focuses on three distinct categories of prohibited insider conduct: trading in stolen confidential information, trading in illegal tips, and trading in influencers. Participants are prohibited from using confidential information obtained in breach of a fiduciary duty, acting on tips they know or should know are tainted, and from taking positions where they hold “a position of authority or influence sufficient to affect the outcome of the underlying event.” Beyond the internal rules, Polymarket now highlights the full prohibition of fraud, wash trading, fake transactions, fronting, self-dealing, misuse of information, attempted fraud, and other disruptive practices that undermine organized markets.
On US exchanges, enforcement relies on a multi-layered surveillance stack: a partnership with “world-class trade surveillance and technology experts,” a regulatory desk that uses real-time monitoring, and a Regulatory Services Agreement with the National Futures Association to investigate and serve violators. Penalties for violators may include suspension, termination, monetary penalties, or referral to regulators and law enforcement. On the DeFi side, users can report suspected abuse through Polymarket’s Discord or by emailing [email protected]while US exchange participants can file confidential complaints against them [email protected].
The realignment is amid a broader regulatory shift in the US, where the CFTC has asserted exclusive jurisdiction over some market-speculation derivatives and is actively defining how futures contracts fall under the Commodity Exchange Act. Polymarket has already received an amended CFTC order by the end of 2025, which allows centralized access by futures commission traders and commits the platform to full Designated Contract Market-style oversight, reporting, and self-regulatory obligations. As one recent analysis put it, regulated platforms like Polymarket now “bet on transparency and on-chain honesty” while competing with DeFi-only platforms that emphasize cost and self-sustainability.
