Kalshi v. CFTC - Round I

Part VIII - A brief history of the Commodity Exchange Act and what it means for sports

Last Friday was a happy day for Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong as the SEC has agreed in principle to dismiss its enforcement case against Coinbase.

Here is Armstrong talking about prediction markets on CNBC:

Just a couple of weeks ago, the CFTC announced that it intends to hold a prediction markets roundtable:

The goal of the roundtable is to develop a robust administrative record with studies, data, expert reports, and public input from a wide variety of stakeholder groups to inform the Commission’s approach to regulation and oversight of prediction markets, including sports-related event contracts.

As you know, we have expertise in this very subject. This last Friday, we sent an email to the CFTC requesting to participate as a panelist and will keep you posted.

The Commodity Exchange Act, in substance, has been around for about a century. Today, we will talk a little bit about its evolution, as we feel it should shape the discussion regarding the future of the prediction markets. Naturally, that history is also relevant for interpreting the Dodd-Frank Act correctly.

Let’s dive in.