Prediction market platform Polymarket is reviewing whether to require know-your-customer checks, reconsidering an operating model that has allowed users to trade under pseudonyms. The move comes as the company faces growing legal risks tied to sanctions violations and illegal gambling allegations, and as more countries block or restrict access. Polymarket has geoblocked users in 35 countries, including Iran, Russia and North Korea. U.S. political and congressional scrutiny has also intensified.

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly backed maintaining the Commodity Futures Trading Commission\'s exclusive authority to regulate prediction markets, calling such oversight essential. He also reiterated a stance of protecting the crypto industry, describing the United States as the global capital of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin. The comments come as disputes between federal and state authorities over prediction markets have escalated into lawsuits, with states arguing sports-related betting should be governed by state gambling laws.