2 days ago
Congressman Ritchie Torres has called connected the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to modulate election-related prediction markets alternatively than blocking them.
In a letter addressed to CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam, Torres urged the regulator to absorption connected promoting liable innovation and moving with platforms similar Kalshi and Polymarket to guarantee specified markets are regulated alternatively than pushing traders towards illegal, unregulated platforms.
Torres’ missive followed a Sept. 6 tribunal ruling that partially overturned the CFTC’s efforts to prevent Kalshi, a US-based prediction platform, from offering election-related contracts. He emphasized that further ineligible challenges could harm some predetermination integrity and user protection, allowing amerciable platforms to flourish.
Torres wrote:
“The CFTC has a mandate to beforehand liable innovation.”
He urged the bureau to collaborate with regulated marketplace participants, ensuring election-related contracts are conducted transparently and securely wrong regulated markets.
Polymarket declines amid uncertainty
Polymarket has seen a important diminution successful enactment implicit the past fewer days arsenic regulatory unit and uncertainty implicit predetermination betting proceed to mount.
According to Dune Analytics, Polymarket’s regular progressive traders dropped by astir 40%, from 12,595 connected Sept.11 to 7,627 by Sept. 15. The platform’s regular trading measurement besides fell dramatically, down 85.6%, from $37.2 cardinal to $5.35 cardinal implicit the aforesaid period.
The driblet successful enactment follows the CFTC’s connection to bounds definite lawsuit contracts, peculiarly those related to governmental outcomes. The regulator has expressed concerns astir the imaginable for manipulation successful specified markets, citing instances wherever fabricated information, similar a fake canvass involving instrumentalist Kid Rock, distorted marketplace prices.
Despite the regulatory challenges, Polymarket has gained immoderate mainstream recognition, with Bloomberg precocious integrating the level into its fiscal terminals. The determination suggests that involvement successful decentralized prediction markets is growing, adjacent arsenic regulators scrutinize the assemblage much closely.
Intensifying debate
The statement implicit predetermination prediction markets intensified connected Sept. 6 erstwhile a national tribunal ruled successful favour of Kalshi, allowing the level to connection election-related contracts. The level hailed the determination arsenic a historical moment, stating that for the archetypal clip successful 100 years, Americans could legally commercialized connected predetermination outcomes.
However, the CFTC rapidly filed an exigency question to enactment Kalshi’s predetermination markets, citing concerns astir imaginable manipulation. The bureau has argued that predetermination markets could undermine nationalist spot successful the antiauthoritarian process.
The CFTC’s actions person faced disapproval from lawmakers similar Torres, who urged the watchdog to judge the court’s ruling and absorption connected regulating these markets to guarantee transparency and user protection.
Torres wrote successful his letter:
“The CFTC should beryllium focusing connected regulating exchanges, protecting consumers, and safeguarding the integrity of elections.”
He warned that continued ineligible battles could propulsion traders toward unregulated platforms, further jeopardizing predetermination integrity.
The station Lawmaker calls connected CFTC to modulate predetermination markets arsenic Polymarket enactment falters amid uncertainty appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
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