Prediction markets get first U.S. rule proposal as CFTC pursues contract reviews

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Prediction markets get first U.S. rule proposal as CFTC pursues contract reviews The Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened a proposed rule for public comment that sets an approach to determine contracts in the "public interest." By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De Jun 10, 2026, 1:58 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig has proposed the first prediction markets regulation. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk) What to know : The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued its first notice of proposed rulemaking on prediction markets, suggesting a system by which it can review whether contracts are in the public interest. The CFTC is seeking to carve a clear regulatory position to back the ongoing growth of the industry, which has drawn increased attention for its popular sports and political betting. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed its first prediction markets regulation on Wednesday, pitching an approach to how it can make widespread evaluations of whether contracts trip the federal standard for what's off-limits. The agency that regulates U.S. derivatives has been a defender of prediction markets such as those run by Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com, with Chairman Mike Selig making them a top legal and regulatory priority for the CFTC. He's been promising a new, tailored regulatory regime for the industry, and the new proposal addresses part of what may be multiple rules pursued by the regulator. “The CFTC will protect the integrity of our regulated markets without standing in the way of responsible innovation,” Selig said in a statement. “This proposal gives the commission a durable, transparent framework to identify the contracts Congress directed us to scrutinize while letting legitimate markets move forward.” Federal law holds that contracts involving war, terrorism, assassination, illegal activity and gaming can be deemed outside of the public interest and not allowed. In practice and in its recent embrace of data-sharing agreements with professional sports leagues, the CFTC has embraced the massively growing field of sports betting as an apparent public interest. The platforms on which event contracts are traded are regulated exchanges under the CFTC, and the agency has said that exchanges are the first line of defence in determining whether contracts are legal and markets aren't manipulated or abused. The proposal weighs a 90-day review process on public-interest determinations for individual contracts. President Donald Trump has recently expressed suppor t for the track Selig has been on, saying in a social-media post that "Other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top." Prediction Markets Regulation More For You Crypto tax bills a work-in-progress as U.S. House lawmakers pose concerns By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De 16 hours ago The effort to push several tax bills is meant to be bipartisan, but the parties may not be comfortable with all details of the seven bills weighed by the panel. What to know : The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee examined a slate of crypto tax proposals in a hearing, questioning the details of several of the draft bills and suggesting there may be significant remaining work they'd expect on the efforts. One aspect that drew significant concerns from committee Democrats was the... Read full story Latest Crypto News Michael Saylor in X back-and-forth over claims Strategy's latest share sale was dilutive 2 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: Index drops 1.4% as all constituents decline 36 minutes ago World Series of Poker adds Solana payments for tournament buy-ins 59 minutes ago Bitcoin trims losses after core CPI rises less than feared 0.2% in May 1 hour ago A 'Bitcoin DeFi' project just shut down with a brutal post-mortem: Users just didn't care 1 hour ago The inflation scenario that could send bitcoin tumbling below $60,000 2 hours ago Top Stories Live updates: Bitcoin and stocks trim big early losses after soft U.S. inflation data 8 hours ago Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO is four times oversubscribed. A crypto bet tells a more cautious story 6 hours ago Japan's three largest banks aim for joint stablecoin issue by March 4 hours ago Bitcoin ETFs are no bigger today than when Trump won the election 8 hours ago Come back after the summer, says one analyst on crypto markets 23 hours ago Bitcoin and gold fall together as a rate-hike bet hits every hedge 8 hours ago