Polymarket Launches Perps With 20x Leverage

Polymarket has expanded beyond its prediction market business by launching a perpetual futures trading platform for international users. The new Polymarket Perps service offers up to 20x leverage across cryptocurrencies, stocks, indices and commodities through a single trading interface.

The initial rollout includes 10 markets, giving traders the ability to take long or short positions with adjustable leverage. Supported crypto assets include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and Hyperliquid (HYPE). Traditional markets such as gold, silver, the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and WTI crude oil are also available, alongside SPCX.

Polymarket is positioning the platform around competitive liquidity and low trading fees. Because perpetual futures do not have an expiration date, traders can keep positions open as long as they maintain sufficient margin. The product may also allow users to trade around major macroeconomic developments, including Federal Reserve decisions and movements in global equity and commodity markets.

The launch marks a significant expansion of Polymarket's business model, which has primarily focused on prediction markets. The company is simultaneously upgrading its trading infrastructure to accommodate greater activity.

Polymarket is targeting processing capacity of 200,000 orders per second, approximately 15 times its current throughput, with its architecture being designed to eventually support more than 400,000 orders per second. Early testing reportedly showed a 10- to 20-fold improvement in p99 latency, a metric used to assess transaction performance during periods of heavier activity.

Polymarket Perps is available internationally only in jurisdictions where the service is legally permitted. The company's U.S. operations remain subject to separate regulatory requirements, particularly Commodity Futures Trading Commission rules governing derivatives.

Contract self-certification does not amount to formal CFTC approval, and regulators retain the ability to review or halt contracts before U.S. trading begins.

Polymarket's crypto price event contracts are also distinct from leveraged perpetual futures. Event contracts allow traders to speculate on whether assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana will reach specified price ranges or levels at a particular time, while perpetual futures provide leveraged exposure to underlying price movements.