Polymarket is pushing back against claims that mandatory identity checks are coming to its main prediction-market platform as sanctions pressure, restricted jurisdictions and VPN access return to the center of the compliance debate.
Josh Stevens, Polymarket’s VP of Engineering, said identity checks are limited to a selected beta group for Polymarket Perps. He said no KYC is being added to any existing part of polymarket.com with the launch, and that the perps product will not require KYC once it exits beta.
The distinction matters because wallet-based access remains one of Polymarket’s clearest product advantages. The main platform lets users trade event contracts through crypto wallets, while Polymarket US operates separately as a CFTC-regulated designated contract market. That split gives Polymarket a global crypto-native product on one side and a regulated U.S. structure on the other.
Geographic access remains the pressure point. Polymarket restricts order placement from several regions because of sanctions, local financial rules, gambling laws, anti-money laundering requirements and KYC obligations. Restricted jurisdictions include Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Russia-linked areas, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and other markets where access is limited.
Perps Add A More Sensitive Compliance Layer
Polymarket Perps raises the stakes because it moves the company closer to leveraged trading while preserving its event-market identity. The new Perps product adds 24/7 long and short exposure on event-driven markets, creating a trading line beyond standard yes-or-no contracts.
That expansion lands while prediction markets face tighter scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. Spain recently blocked Polymarket and Kalshi during a gambling-license investigation, and Indonesia blocked Polymarket as an illegal online gambling platform. India also blocked Polymarket as Kalshi faced ban risk, with VPN access and offshore stablecoin settlement already part of the regulatory concern.
KYC remains sensitive because Polymarket’s strongest liquidity advantage comes from speed, wallet access and crypto-native participation. Mandatory verification could make the platform more acceptable to regulators, banks and institutional partners, but it could also weaken the open trading experience that helped Polymarket grow.
The immediate picture is narrower than the panic. Polymarket says the main site is not moving to mandatory KYC, and identity checks are limited to the Perps beta group. The next signal will come after Perps opens more broadly: wallet-based access would preserve Polymarket’s core identity, while wider verification would mark a major shift in the prediction-market compliance fight.
