Betting odds rise as Polymarket files U.S. trademarks for 'POLY' and '$POLY' token names

The company operating cryptocurrency prediction platform Polymarket has taken formal steps toward launching its own digital token by filing trademark applications for two related names with federal authorities.

Blockratize Inc. submitted paperwork to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 4 seeking protection for “POLY” and “$POLY,” documents show.

The applications showed up on the agency’s website early Friday morning. Officials have marked both filings as active and waiting for review, meaning they meet basic requirements but haven’t been looked at by an examiner yet.

Token plans move forward amid business expansion

The filings cover several categories of business activity. These include computer programs for financial trading and cryptocurrency transactions, services related to digital tokens, and online platform services for electronic trading and settlement operations. Both applications were submitted under “intent to use” rules, which means the company isn’t using these names in business yet but plans to do so.

This paperwork marks a concrete step forward for token plans that Polymarket officials have discussed publicly for months. Back in October, the platform’s marketing chief Matthew Modabber said the company would release a POLY token and give some away to users for free.

Company founder Shayne Coplan also talked about the token publicly around the same time. While the trademark documents don’t say when the token might come out or how it would work, they line up with what executives said earlier and what people following the company have been expecting.

Interest in a possible Polymarket token has grown as prediction markets have gotten much bigger. The platform has become one of the busiest worldwide, handling $7.7 billion worth of trades just last month, based on figures from The Block’s tracking system.

Polymarket has also been building business relationships and raising money lately. In October, Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, put $2 billion into the company. That same month, Polymarket announced deals with major names including Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, DraftKings, and the National Hockey League.

The platform has drawn more attention as prediction markets connected to politics, sports, and major world events have expanded. At the same time, regulators in the United States and other countries have been watching these markets more closely.

Legal challenges complicate return to U.S. market

Company leaders said back in October that they want to get their United States app running again before they focus on releasing the token. Sources said that Polymarket won’t launch its token until it has rebuilt its presence in the American market.

The company moved closer to that target in November when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission gave it permission to operate inside the country. That approval came nearly four years after Polymarket paid a $1.4 million penalty and stopped serving U.S. customers.

But the trademark filings arrive at a difficult moment for the company. While Polymarket works to get back into the U.S. market, it’s dealing with legal problems at the state level that could hurt its main way of doing business. A Nevada state court recently issued a temporary order stopping Polymarket from offering event-based contracts in that state.

The judge found the platform’s activities probably broke Nevada’s gambling laws. Polymarket responded by moving the case to federal court, arguing that the state’s action goes against federal law, according to Daniel Wallach, who runs Wallach Legal LLC, a law firm that handles sports betting and gaming cases.

While these legal fights continue, the trademark applications sit waiting for the patent office to review them. Polymarket hasn’t made any public statements about the trademark filings and hasn’t shared more information about when the POLY token might launch.

On Myriad, a prediction market run by Dastan, users are betting there’s only a 30% chance Polymarket will announce its token before May arrives.

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