News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily Former SEC Chair and former CFTC Chair Gary Gensler, in an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, stated that the Dodd-Frank Act does not grant the CFTC the authority to regulate sports betting.This position directly contradicts the claims of current CFTC Chair Michael Selig and prediction market platform Kalshi, who argue that contracts related to sports events fall under federal regulatory scope rather than state gambling oversight.Gensler pointed out that if the Dodd-Frank Act truly preempted state authority over sports betting, it would have been major news at the time, yet no one understood it that way. He served as CFTC Chair from 2009 to 2014 and was responsible for implementing rules under the Dodd-Frank Act.The amicus brief pertains to litigation between Kalshi and the state of Ohio. The Ohio gambling regulator had demanded Kalshi cease offering sports-related event contracts to state residents, leading Kalshi to sue the state. However, a request for a preliminary injunction was denied by the court. The CFTC supports Kalshi, arguing that Ohio has overstepped its authority.Over the past year, the CFTC has continuously sought to expand its regulatory reach over prediction markets, having sued several states to establish its jurisdiction. This week, the agency also proposed broader rules for prediction markets, generally supporting sports-related contracts while aiming to impose stricter restrictions on betting concerning events such as terrorist attacks, assassinations, and wars.
Kalshi and Polymarket have lost their bid to block gambling-related lawsuits filed by the states of Nevada and Washington. A panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stated that federal derivatives regulation does not automatically shield prediction market platforms from enforcement of state gambling laws.The appeals court rejected the companies' request to halt the remand of the disputes back to state courts, with the judge stating that Kalshi and Polymarket failed to prove their claim that the cases fall under federal jurisdiction. This ruling deepens the legal divide over whether sports event contracts offered by prediction market companies are federally regulated derivatives or illegal gambling products under state law. (financefeeds)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected requests from Kalshi and Polymarket, allowing gambling-related cases against the two prediction market platforms in Nevada and Washington state to move forward, and remanded the cases to state court.The court ruled that the two companies failed to demonstrate that the cases should be under federal court jurisdiction. The platforms' assertion that the Commodity Exchange Act has preemptive effect is not sufficient to automatically establish federal jurisdiction.Kalshi and Polymarket previously argued that contracts on events such as sports and politics are federal derivatives regulated by the CFTC, and that states have no authority to enforce gambling laws against them. However, Nevada and Washington state contend that such contracts constitute unlicensed gambling products.This ruling highlights a growing divide among U.S. courts over whether prediction markets qualify as federally regulated swap contracts or as illegal gambling products under state law.
According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, supporting Kalshi’s appeal in its litigation against Ohio and asserting that prediction markets fall under the CFTC’s regulatory jurisdiction. The CFTC stated that Ohio’s prior demand that Kalshi cease offering sports-event contracts constituted “jurisdictional overreach.” The CFTC warned that if states were permitted to restrict sports-event contracts traded on designated contract markets (DCMs), the CFTC’s long-standing regulatory authority over event contracts, swaps, and binary options markets could be undermined. The outcome of this case will also impact prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
According to The Block, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held oral arguments in the appeal filed by Roman Sterlingov, the alleged operator of Bitcoin Fog. The court focused on whether prosecutors presented sufficient evidence that Bitcoin Fog operated in Washington, D.C., and whether U.S. unlicensed money transmission laws apply to global cryptocurrency service platforms serving U.S. users. Judges also questioned the reliability of FBI evidence linking Sterlingov to Bitcoin Fog based on “IP address overlap” analysis. Sterlingov was previously convicted in 2024 of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission business. The outcome of this case may influence the scope of U.S. enforcement actions—under Section 1960—against developers and service providers of cryptocurrency privacy tools.
Odaily Odaily Odaily Odaily Odaily The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, supporting prediction market platform Kalshi and pushing back against a lawsuit previously filed by the state of Ohio.Ohio argues that Kalshi's prediction market operations constitute unlicensed sports betting, while the CFTC contends that these markets fall under federal regulatory authority and that states have no right to overstep those boundaries.CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that the Ohio district court's previous interpretation of the CFTC's jurisdiction was "too narrow" and hopes the appellate court will correct this.Over the past few months, the CFTC has sued states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, and New York to defend its regulatory authority over prediction markets. As platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket gain increasing popularity, the dispute over the regulatory boundary between federal and state governments continues to widen.
According to Cointelegraph, a legal dispute between prediction market platform Kalshi and the state of Nevada over regulatory jurisdiction concerning event contracts may ultimately be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kalshi argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that its event contracts qualify as “swaps” subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), rather than falling under state-level gambling regulation. Previously, Nevada had restricted Kalshi from offering such contracts on the grounds that it required a gambling license. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, stated that the Supreme Court may rule on whether sports contracts listed on designated contract markets fall within the CFTC’s exclusive regulatory authority.
According to News1, following the erroneous payment incident at Bithumb, the Bank of Korea stated that it is necessary to prudently consider introducing a “circuit breaker” mechanism—similar to those in traditional financial markets—into the cryptocurrency market to address extreme market volatility and systemic risks. The Bank of Korea noted that as the cryptocurrency market expands and associated risks increase, existing regulatory measures are insufficient to fully cover potential issues; therefore, it is essential to study the introduction of an automated trading suspension mechanism to enhance market stability and investor protection. Previously, Bithumb triggered market attention after a system failure led to abnormal payments affecting some users’ assets.
According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of Justice jointly filed an application with a federal court on Tuesday evening seeking to block Arizona from enforcing its state gambling laws against prediction market operator Kalshi. The two agencies argue that Kalshi’s contracts—tied to real-world events such as sporting events and elections—are, in substance, financial derivatives (swaps) subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and the federal regulatory framework, rather than state-level gambling regulations. Arizona had previously brought criminal charges against Kalshi, with a trial scheduled for April 13. Courts across the country have issued conflicting rulings: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (New Jersey) has leaned toward supporting the federal regulatory position, while other district courts have remained open to the state’s arguments.