Polymarket may be best known for letting traders wager on everything from elections to economic chaos—but this week, the prediction market placed one of its most consequential bets yet.
The company has quietly filed trademark applications for “POLY” and “$POLY” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a move that signals concrete progress toward launching its long-rumored native token. The filings, submitted Thursday by Polymarket’s parent company Blockratize Inc., mark the first formal public paper trail tying the platform to a token rollout—even as it navigates an increasingly complicated regulatory landscape.
A Token With a Paper Trail
The trademark applications cover a wide range of crypto-focused services, including cryptocurrency trading, financial exchange platforms, portfolio management, and blockchain-based payment systems. Both filings explicitly describe services for “providing a digital currency or digital token for use by members of an online community via a global computer network.”
In short, this isn’t a placeholder. It’s infrastructure.
For a company that has so far relied on off-chain hype and carefully worded teasers, the USPTO filings represent a shift from speculation to execution.
Polymarket’s Long-Teased POLY Token
Hints about a POLY token have been circulating for months. In October, Polymarket CMO Matthew Modabber confirmed plans for both a token and an airdrop, telling Rug Radio’s Degenz Live that the goal was to build something with “true utility” and “longevity,” not just another short-lived incentive token.
That same month, CEO Shayne Coplan fueled speculation by tweeting a “POLY” ticker alongside heavyweight crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and BNB—a not-so-subtle signal about where the company sees its ambitions.
Sources familiar with Polymarket’s strategy have previously said the company doesn’t plan to launch the token until it reestablishes a stable foothold in the U.S. market. That condition may finally be inching closer to reality.
A Careful Return to the U.S.
In November, Polymarket received CFTC approval to operate domestically, nearly four years after paying a $1.4 million fine and withdrawing from the U.S. market altogether. The approval marked a major regulatory milestone—and potentially cleared the runway for a token launch down the line.
Still, confidence remains mixed. On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, traders currently assign just a 30% chance that Polymarket will announce its token before May.
That skepticism may be rooted in the legal turbulence still surrounding the platform.
State-Level Headwinds Complicate the Picture
Even as Polymarket pushes forward federally, it’s facing mounting challenges at the state level. Most recently, a Nevada state court issued a temporary restraining order blocking the platform from offering event-based contracts in the state, ruling that its activities likely violate Nevada gaming law.
Polymarket has since moved the case to federal court, arguing that Nevada’s action conflicts with federal law—a strategy highlighted by Daniel Wallach, a gaming law specialist and founder of Wallach Legal LLC.
The outcome could have broad implications, not just for Polymarket, but for the future of prediction markets operating in the U.S.
What Comes Next
For now, the POLY and $POLY trademark applications are awaiting examination by the USPTO. Polymarket has not publicly commented on the filings, and the company declined immediate requests for clarification.
Still, the message is hard to ignore.
By securing trademarks tied directly to a digital token, Polymarket is signaling that its next chapter—one involving tokenized participation, incentives, and deeper crypto integration—is moving from concept to preparation.
Whether POLY launches before or after the legal dust settles may determine not just the token’s success, but Polymarket’s long-term place in the U.S. crypto ecosystem.
One thing is clear: the market that lets users bet on the future is quietly building one of its own.