Activity tagged "US politics"

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The CFTC (the US commodities regulator) has just sued Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois for their efforts to "outlaw, regulate, or otherwise restrain" prediction markets like Kalshi.

This is another escalation by newly appointed CFTC chair Mike Selig (and sole Commissioner at the agency), who has taken it upon himself to assert the CFTC's sole regulatory authority over prediction markets. Recently, the CFTC filed a supporting brief in Crypto​.com's lawsuit against Nevada.

As I wrote then, "Since the CFTC has filed no enforcement actions against prediction markets after embracing the sector following Trump’s election, Selig’s jurisdictional claim seems designed to shield the sector rather than regulate it."

Nevertheless, the CFTC's press release accompanying these lawsuits claims that state regulatory intervention could result in "poorer consumer protection and increased risk of fraud and manipulation".

Read:
“CPAC Had the Stage in Texas—but Not Much of a Crowd”.
Steven Monacelli in D Magazine. Published .
When CPAC chairman Schlapp asked the crowd, “How many of you would like to see impeachment hearings?” they erupted in cheers. “No, that was the wrong answer,” Schlapp said. “Let me try again. How many of you would like to see impeachment hearings?” Some in the crowd cheered again. “No,” Schlapp said, clearly frustrated.
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90% of crypto's Illinois primary spending failed to achieve its objective

The cryptocurrency industry super PACs dumped $14.2 million into the Illinois primaries. 90% of that – $12.8 million – was wasted, in that it went to opposing Democratic candidates who won their primaries (Stratton in the Senate race, Ford in H-07) or supporting their opponents.

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The Fairshake pro-crypto super PAC network spent $10 million to oppose Senate candidate Juliana Stratton and $2.5 million to oppose H-07 candidate La Shawn Ford, both of whom won their primaries

The PACs' only victories in the state were where they contributed money towards outcomes that were already highly likely. They opposed Robert Peters (H-02), who had been polling in third place and ultimately received 12% of the vote. They supported Bean (who was leading the polls in H-08) and incumbent Budzinski (H-13).

Sadly this early spending in Illinois used up less than 6% of what the super PACs have on hand, so buckle up for a looong eight months.

Read:
“The Charlie Kirk purge: How 600 Americans were punished in a pro-Trump crackdown”.
Raphael Satter and A.J. Vicens in Reuters. Published .
Two months after Charlie Kirk's assassination, a government-backed campaign has led to firings, suspensions, investigations and other action against more than 600 people. Republican officials have endorsed the punishments, saying that those who glorify violence should be removed from positions of trust.