What is Polymarket Clearing?

A clearinghouse stands between the two sides of every trade. Neither side then depends on the other to pay. In market-structure terms, it is the central counterparty to each trade.

QC Clearing LLC: registered December 16, 2024

Polymarket Clearing is QC Clearing LLC. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission registered it as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) on December 16, 2024. Its order permits it to clear fully collateralized positions in futures, options on futures, and swaps that meet the CFTC’s rules. Both Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing came out of Polymarket’s 2025 acquisition of the QCEX exchange and clearinghouse.

Fully collateralized: $1.00 a contract to the winning side

Polymarket Clearing’s model is fully collateralized. It holds the entire cash value of both sides up front. With that cash already held, it employs no margin-setting methodology and keeps no financial resource package. When a market resolves, the winning side is paid $1.00 a contract from that collateral. The losing side is paid nothing.

Clearinghouse

QC Clearing LLC d/b/a Polymarket Clearing, a CFTC-registered derivatives clearing organization

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DCO registered

Registered as a derivatives clearing organization by Commission order on December 16, 2024 (CFTC DCO filing 50836)

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What it may clear

Fully collateralized positions in futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and swaps that meet CFTC Regulation 39.2

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Collateral model

Clears only fully collateralized positions; it employs no margin-setting methodology and maintains no financial resource package

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Polymarket US clears through it, and Polymarket Clearing has signed other venues too. It is not reserved for Polymarket’s own market.

Gemini Titan and DraftKings: two venues beyond Polymarket US

Gemini’s Titan exchange signed a Direct Clearing Member Agreement with it dated December 12, 2025. In October 2025, when DraftKings agreed to buy the Railbird exchange, Polymarket named Polymarket Clearing its designated clearinghouse. Venues can change clearinghouses. The current arrangement is the venue’s to confirm.

“Polymarket Clearing” names an industry role, not a setting inside one app. The DTCC and the OCC fill the same role for stocks and options. A venue connects its contract market to a clearinghouse. Several contract markets can connect to the same one.

Other venues

Gemini Titan, LLC signed a Direct Clearing Member Agreement with Polymarket Clearing dated December 12, 2025

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DraftKings

In October 2025 Polymarket named Polymarket Clearing the designated clearinghouse for the DraftKings prediction market, after DraftKings agreed to buy the Railbird exchange

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Yes. By the paperwork, an ordinary Polymarket US trader is a CFTC clearing member. The document you accept to trade is the Participant and Clearing Member Agreement. One agreement grants two statuses. It grants Polymarket US participant status, with trading privileges. It also grants Polymarket Clearing clearing-member status, with clearing privileges.

Three member tiers: Individual, Entity and FCM

The clearing rulebook sets three member tiers: Individual, Entity, and Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). An individual trader is an Individual clearing member. The FCM tier is the one a broker carrying customer accounts would hold. It carries a $5 million minimum capital requirement.

The November 24, 2025 amended CFTC order removed the original bar on FCMs carrying customer accounts. That change is what opened the intermediated tier.

One agreement, two statuses

A single Participant and Clearing Member Agreement grants both Polymarket US participant status and Polymarket Clearing clearing-member status

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Clearing-member tiers

Individual, Entity, and Futures Commission Merchant (FCM); the FCM tier carries a $5 million minimum capital requirement

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Designated

The Polymarket US contract market was designated by the CFTC on July 9, 2025

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Amended order

On November 24, 2025 the CFTC amended the order, removing the bar on futures commission merchants carrying customer accounts

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Every clearing member, individuals included, agrees to audit-trail recordkeeping as the CFTC rules require. That includes Regulations 1.31 and 1.35 where they apply. Books and records are kept available for inspection and produced in a standard format on request.

The same agreement has members consent to electronic delivery of all tax forms, including IRS Form 1099-B. Members also agree to cooperate with regulators.

FCM members: monthly financial reports and a full back office

An FCM clearing member carries far more. Its obligations include monthly 1-FR-FCM or FOCUS financial reports and daily back-office reports. They also include customer-fund segregation, account reconciliations, and disaster-recovery and business-continuity plans. The rulebook lists that back office for the FCM tier.

Recordkeeping

Every clearing member keeps audit-trail information as the CFTC rules require, including Regulations 1.31 and 1.35 where they apply, and produces it in a standard format on request

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Customer agreement

Consent to electronic delivery of “all tax forms, including, without limitation, IRS Form 1099-B”

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FCM back office

An FCM clearing member additionally files monthly 1-FR-FCM or FOCUS reports, has daily back-office reports ready by 8:00 a.m. the next business day, segregates customer funds, reconciles accounts, and keeps disaster-recovery and business-continuity plans

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The clearinghouse settles every trade, so each cleared fill and each market resolution is a dated record with a price. A resolution pays $1.00 a contract to the winning side and $0.00 to the other. That record is what a return is built from, whether or not a 1099-B arrives. There is no IRS guidance on how event contracts are taxed.

Three common routes: standard capital, Section 1256 and gambling

Of the people we’ve seen file a Polymarket US year, three routes are in common use. Under standard capital, each closed position is a sale on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Under Section 1256, gains split 60/40 on Form 6781. A position open at year end is marked to its December 31 price. Under gambling, winnings go on Schedule 1. Losses come off only as an itemized deduction under §165(d). How each route treats a Polymarket US year in dollars is on Polymarket taxes.

How Realize rebuilds a Polymarket US year

Realize connects to Polymarket US read-only. It rebuilds every lot first in, first out from the cleared fills and resolutions. Then it builds the forms for whichever route you file. Realize produces the record and the forms from the venue’s own data, and can introduce you to a CPA. What Polymarket US publishes about forms is on Polymarket tax documents. Where the trade data comes from is on Polymarket trade history.

Is Polymarket Clearing the same as Polymarket US?

No. Polymarket US (QCX LLC) is the designated contract market, where buy and sell orders are matched. Polymarket Clearing (QC Clearing LLC) is a separate CFTC-registered clearinghouse that holds the collateral on both sides of a trade and settles it. Both came out of Polymarket’s 2025 acquisition of the QCEX exchange and clearinghouse.

What is QC Clearing LLC?

QC Clearing LLC is the legal name of Polymarket Clearing. It is a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) the CFTC registered on December 16, 2024, and it clears the trades made on Polymarket US.

Is Polymarket US a DCO or a DCM?

It has one of each, run by two companies. Polymarket US (QCX LLC) is a designated contract market (DCM), designated by the CFTC on July 9, 2025. Polymarket Clearing (QC Clearing LLC) is a derivatives clearing organization (DCO), registered on December 16, 2024. polymarket.com, the international product, is a separate product.

Who holds my collateral on Polymarket US?

Polymarket Clearing does. As of October 29, 2026, it clears only fully collateralized positions. It holds the full cash value of both sides of every trade and maintains no financial resource package.

Does Polymarket US send a 1099-B?

Polymarket US has not published a 1099 schedule. The Participant and Clearing Member Agreement has customers consent to electronic delivery of all tax forms, including IRS Form 1099-B. It sets no threshold, date or commitment to issue one. Whether a 1099-B arrives for a given year is not yet public. The Polymarket tax documents page tracks what Polymarket US issues.

Who else does Polymarket Clearing clear for?

Besides Polymarket US, Gemini Titan signed a Direct Clearing Member Agreement with it dated December 12, 2025. In October 2025, Polymarket named it the designated clearinghouse for the DraftKings prediction market. Venues can change clearinghouses, and the current arrangement is the venue’s to confirm. Clearing is an industry role, not a feature of one app.