Polymarket said it will not introduce mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) checks on its existing prediction market platform.

On May 28, blockchain media outlet Cointelegraph reported that Josh Stevens (조시 스티븐스), Polymarket’s vice president of engineering, said recent speculation about expanding KYC applied only to an initial access stage for a new beta product.

Stevens said on X, formerly Twitter, that Polymarket is launching a new beta product for some users and that KYC is required only during the initial trial period. He said the launch does not add KYC to any part of the existing polymarket.com website. He added that KYC will not be required once the product is out of beta.

The remarks followed a report by The Information that Polymarket, amid growing regulatory pressure, had considered making user verification mandatory. Asked whether KYC could be introduced more broadly in the future, Stevens replied, "No." He added that the move was not a shift toward ending anonymous-based trading in Polymarket’s main market, but an explanation of early access requirements for the new beta product.

The clarification came as Polymarket’s service access restrictions expand to multiple regions. As of May 28, Polymarket listed dozens of restricted areas, with orders blocked in some countries and only liquidation of existing positions allowed in some regions.

Country-level regulatory actions are also continuing. In April, Brazil blocked 27 prediction market platforms including Polymarket and Kalshi, with authorities judging that the services operate outside the country’s legal framework. Spain’s gambling regulator also blocked local user access to Polymarket and Kalshi in May. The authorities said it was a preventive step while legal procedures proceed over allegations of unlicensed gambling activity.

Even so, Polymarket continues to push to expand major markets. The company was reported in April to have held broad discussions with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) related to re-entering the U.S. market, and it was also reported this month to have explored entering Japan, which has strict gambling regulations.

In this situation, Polymarket’s explanation is seen as a move to manage regulatory responses separately from its service expansion strategy. At least for now, it has made clear it will keep the existing platform’s operating model and apply identity checks only to limited trial operations of a new product.

False. We are launching a new beta product and allowing a select group of users to try it out, with KYC required only during this beta period. No KYC is being added to any part of existing https://t.co/GeeC4Y8nYc with this launch. Once this product is out of beta no KYC will be…