JPMorgan ended banking services to the prediction market platform Polymarket in October 2025 citing regulatory concerns, according to reporting from the Financial Times. The bank has since maintained engagement with the company and is exploring an underwriting role.
The debanking occurred as regulators worldwide have intensified scrutiny of prediction markets, which allow users to bet on the outcomes of elections, geopolitical events and other events. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has authority over prediction market derivatives. JPMorgan's move marks one of the largest Wall Street institutions to sever ties with the sector, though the bank has not fully disengaged from Polymarket's operators.
Polymarket has grown into one of the most heavily trafficked prediction platforms, with cumulative volume exceeding billions of dollars. The platform operates through Polygon, an Ethereum scaling layer, and previously held banking relationships with multiple institutions. JPMorgan's October decision to terminate its arrangement highlighted the compliance risks major banks perceive in the space, particularly around know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering requirements unique to betting-on-future-events platforms.
Since the debanking, JPMorgan has invited Polymarket executives to its annual CEO conference in February 2026 and expressed interest in underwriting services for the company, according to the Financial Times. Underwriting would involve the bank helping Polymarket raise capital through debt or equity offerings, a deeper engagement than payment processing but one that allows distance from direct custodial responsibility.
The timeline reveals a pattern central to Wall Street's relationship with crypto infrastructure: banks cite regulatory uncertainty as reason to exit, then pursue advisory or capital-raising roles as those platforms mature and attract allocators. JPMorgan has taken similar positions in bitcoin and ethereum institutional services, initially restricting access before later offering trading and custody through its advisors.
Polymarket operates without a U.S. banking partner for direct operations, relying instead on stablecoin infrastructure and decentralized settlement. The company has raised funding from venture firms including Founders Fund and Polychain Capital. Whether JPMorgan's underwriting interest results in a formal engagement depends partly on regulatory clarity around prediction market derivatives at the federal level, an area still contested between the CFTC and other agencies.
JPMorgan has continued outreach to Polymarket despite the debanking. The number of Wall Street banks offering any service to prediction market operators remains minimal, making JPMorgan's expressed interest a rare institutional engagement in the sector.
