ESMA questions Polymarket and Kalshi's EU market access
European Securities and Markets Authority suggests event platforms may breach existing binary-options bans, while the SEC proposes new rules to simplify shareholder records.
Europe's top financial regulator, ESMA, stated that contracts for event outcomes might violate current EU restrictions on binary options. The agency noted these agreements could also conflict with crypto-asset frameworks like MiCA or national gambling regulations. Consequently, Polymarket and Kalshi currently lack clear authorization to operate across the European Union. In a separate regulatory development, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed overhauling rules for transfer agents. This plan aims to remove duplicate offchain records for shareholders, which would lower reconciliation costs and reduce legal ambiguity for tokenized securities. The two regulatory proposals address distinct market segments: one focuses on restricting specific contract types in Europe, while the other seeks to streamline record-keeping systems for digital assets in the United States.
