> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.polymarket.us/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Platform Model

> How Polymarket US is structured as a DCM and DCO, and the entity model you integrate against.

Polymarket US operates as a CFTC-regulated **Designated Contract Market (DCM)** and **Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO)**. As a partner you integrate against a **single platform** — the internal split between matching and clearing is ours to manage, not something your integration needs to model.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Audience: developers and solution architects.** A conceptual model of the platform and the entities your integration acts on.

## One platform, two functions

| Function | What it does | What you interact with |
| - | - | - |
| **DCM** (matching) | Maintains the order book, matches orders, publishes market data | Order entry, market data |
| **DCO** (clearing) | Holds collateral, clears trades, settles contracts | Balances, positions, funding transfers |

> [!NOTE]
>
> In every diagram and API in these docs, the platform is represented as a single actor: **Polymarket US**. You authenticate once and use one set of credentials regardless of whether a given call is served by the matching or clearing function.

## The entity model

Your integration acts on a small, consistent set of entities:

```mermaid theme={null}
graph TD
    F["Firm — your IB/ISV organization"] --> P1["Retail Participant"]
    F --> P2["Retail Participant"]
    P1 --> A1["Account (balances & positions)"]
    P2 --> A2["Account (balances & positions)"]
```

| Entity | What it is | When it's created |
| - | - | - |
| **Firm** | Your IB/ISV organization — the permissions container you authenticate as | At partner onboarding |
| **Retail Participant** | A person you onboard who trades through your platform | Automatically, when their KYC is approved |
| **Account** | The trading account holding a Retail Participant's balances and positions | Automatically, alongside the Retail Participant |

You authenticate as the **Firm** and act **on behalf of** the Retail Participants beneath it. You **collect** each participant's KYC information and submit it; Polymarket US **performs the verification and decision**. On approval, identity and accounts are **provisioned automatically** — there is no separate "create user" or "create account" call.

> [!NOTE]
>
> In these partner docs, **Participant** means a *trading identity* — a person you onboard. Be aware the [main glossary](https://docs.polymarket.us/getting-started/glossary.md) also uses the word "participant" in an unrelated market-structure sense; the [Partner Glossary](https://docs.polymarket.us/partners/glossary.md) explains the distinction.

## How messages flow

A typical action — placing an order on behalf of a Retail Participant — looks like this from the outside:

```mermaid theme={null}
sequenceDiagram
    participant RP as Retail Participant
    participant App as Your App
    participant PM as Polymarket US

    RP->>App: Place order
    App->>PM: Submit order (as Firm, on behalf of Participant)
    PM-->>App: Acknowledgement
    PM-->>App: Order & position updates (stream)
    App-->>RP: Confirmation & live updates
```

Your application is the bridge: you translate participant actions into authenticated requests, and translate Polymarket US streams back into your UI.

## Identifying who you act for

API calls that are scoped to a participant carry an `x-participant-id` header identifying which Retail Participant the action is for. You can discover the identities available to your Firm at any time:

* [`GET /v1/whoami`](https://docs.polymarket.us/institutional/accounts/overview#endpoints) — your Firm identity
* [`GET /v1/users`](https://docs.polymarket.us/institutional/accounts/overview#endpoints) — the Retail Participants your Firm may act on behalf of

See [Accounts & Identity](https://docs.polymarket.us/trader-guide/accounts-identity.md) for the identity hierarchy, or [Onboard Participants](https://docs.polymarket.us/partners/onboarding/onboard-participants.md) for how identities are created and listed.

## Next steps

> [card] [Integration Journey](https://docs.polymarket.us/partners/integration-journey.md)
>
> The recommended order to build your integration.

> [card] [Authentication](https://docs.polymarket.us/partners/get-connected/authentication.md)
>
> Authenticate as your Firm with Private Key JWT.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.