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.
Backpack has announced the appointment of former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner and Acting Chairman Dr. Michael S. Piwowar to the Board of Directors of Backpack US.Public records show that Piwowar served as an SEC Commissioner from 2013 to 2018 and was appointed Acting Chairman by President Trump. He was among the earliest top U.S. regulators to engage in discussions on digital assets and ICO oversight. Prior to joining the SEC, he served as Chief Economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, contributing to the drafting of SEC-related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act.Backpack stated that this appointment comes at a time when the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved the first regulated Bitcoin perpetual contract. The company previously offered regulated perpetual contract trading services within the EU and has the capability to roll out the same product line under the new U.S. framework. Additionally, former CFTC Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen serves as President of Backpack US and participates in the DTCC Tokenization Working Group, continuously advancing the company's compliance strategy within the U.S. market.
Odaily Odaily News Aaron Klein, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in the United States, has warned that as Congress deliberates on digital asset legislation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may face a lack of regulatory capacity when expanding its authority over digital assets. Klein noted that the CFTC was originally established to oversee commodity futures markets and was not designed for the scale of responsibilities proposed under current crypto regulations. A lack of additional personnel, funding, and specialized expertise could lead to a situation of "regulatory authority without substantive oversight." Recent staff departures and institutional adjustments at the CFTC have weakened its regulatory capacity, and expanding its duties could replicate the regulatory failures seen during past financial crises. If crypto regulatory responsibilities are fragmented across multiple agencies, it could result in delays and confusion, repeating the implementation shortcomings of the Dodd-Frank era.Aaron Klein criticized the allegation that financial regulation is influenced by politics, emphasizing that law enforcement should remain independent from the White House or political relationships. He called for increased accountability and prevention of financial misconduct, suggesting that the SEC and CFTC should enhance coordination, and possibly even merge, to improve the efficiency of digital asset and prediction market regulation. In the short term, sharing office space could improve collaboration and be more effective than formal agreements. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, Mike Selig, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated during the Digital Assets Summit hosted by Vanderbilt University that the CFTC will continue to defend its “exclusive regulatory authority” over prediction markets and clarify the federal regulatory status of commodity derivatives markets through litigation. Selig noted that prediction markets—whether related to sports, politics, or other topics—fall under CFTC jurisdiction as long as the products are lawfully offered on CFTC-regulated exchanges; state governments may not substitute gambling laws for federal regulation. Recently, the CFTC has filed lawsuits against Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut to underscore this jurisdictional claim. Selig also mentioned that the CFTC is engaged in rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act to clarify its regulatory framework for prediction markets and is collaborating with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a digital asset classification system aimed at preventing regulatory overlap.