Prediction market broker River Markets registers affiliate as CFTC futures commission merchant

River Markets said its affiliate, River Finance LLC, has registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a futures commission merchant (FCM) and joined the National Futures Association (NFA), allowing it to carry customer accounts and handle client funds.

The company is building a prime brokerage platform for prediction markets that aims to let institutional traders manage capital, positions, and risk across multiple exchanges and clearinghouses through a single account, with plans to support financing arrangements and permitted over-the-counter trading.

"Our conversations with the institutions entering this market give us a unique view of what they need," Cofounder and CEO Oscar Levy said in a release. "Access to event contracts isn’t enough. They need to use capital efficiently and manage risk around the clock, across exchanges. That’s the brokerage model we’re building."

River Markets was founded in May and serves hedge funds, sports funds, proprietary trading firms, and event-risk hedging companies, according to the firm. River Markets has routed over 250 million contracts and is backed by "top-tier venture capital firms" following its $8.5 million seed funding round.

Combined trading volume across Kalshi, Polymarket US, and Polymarket's international platform exceeded $500 billion in October. Prediction markets are becoming large enough to create demand for the kinds of brokerage, clearing, financing, and risk-management services traditionally associated with derivatives markets.

In July, Polymarket-affiliated entities sought an FCM and swap-firm registration through the NFA to enable U.S. customers to trade using borrowed capital. Kalshi affiliate Kinetic Markets received NFA approval as an FCM and swap firm in March. And last month, Blockchain.com applied for both a designated contract market (DCM) license and FCM registration.

Of note, Hyperliquid Strategies last week filed to become an FCM to carry U.S. client accounts for HIP-3 perpetual futures markets, an effort to help bring permissioned Hyperliquid markets to U.S. customers within a regulated framework.