Polymarket names Japan rep, seeks FSA approval by 2030

Polymarket has named Mike Eidlin as its Japan representative and opened a lobbying campaign aimed at securing approval from Japan’s Financial Services Agency to allow prediction markets to operate legally by 2030.

The company said it will press for either a new regulatory product category or an amendment to existing law so it can run onshore operations in Japan. The campaign will target classification and authorization under Japan’s financial rules.

Polymarket reported several recent milestones that it plans to present to regulators. The platform reached $10 billion in monthly trading volume in March 2026 and recorded 678,342 unique users in April. The firm received U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission designation as a contract market, launched perpetual futures trading, introduced a stablecoin called Polymarket USD to replace bridged USDC.e, and implemented a smart-contract upgrade intended to lower transaction costs. The company has held talks with investors about a potential $400 million fundraising at a reported $15 billion valuation.

Prediction markets are not explicitly authorized or banned under current Japanese law, creating a legal grey area. To operate at scale, Polymarket would likely need the FSA to recognize prediction markets as a distinct product class or for lawmakers to amend statutes to address derivatives, betting rules and use of crypto collateral.

Polymarket intends to engage with regulators and legislators over several years. Company officials set a 2030 target for approval and said the platform’s U.S. licensing and recent product changes will be part of their case as they seek a regulatory pathway that would permit local users to participate under an authorized framework.