- Trump publicly backed CFTC Chair Michael Selig’s push for federal oversight of prediction markets.
- He called maintaining the CFTC’s authority over prediction markets “critically important.”
- Trump also doubled down on supporting crypto, calling the U.S. the “Crypto Capital of the World.”
President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig’s effort to preserve federal control over prediction markets, signaling stronger support for both the prediction market and crypto industries.
In a Truth Social post published Tuesday, Trump described the issue as “critically important,” arguing that the CFTC should maintain exclusive authority over prediction markets. The statement reinforces the agency’s increasingly aggressive stance toward states attempting to regulate platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi under local gambling laws.
Selig, who currently serves as the sole leader of the CFTC, has spent the past year defending the agency’s claim that prediction markets fall under federal derivatives law. The regulator has sued several states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, and New York, after officials argued that sports and event-based contracts violated state gaming rules.
Prediction markets exploded in popularity during the 2024 U.S. election cycle, with platforms like Polymarket attracting billions in trading volume tied to political outcomes and global events. The debate now centers on whether those markets should be treated as financial derivatives or gambling products.
Trump also used the post to emphasize the strategic importance of crypto and digital financial infrastructure for the United States.
“Other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top,” Trump wrote, while also describing America as the “Crypto Capital of the World.”
The comments arrive during growing scrutiny around the relationship between prediction market firms and political influence in Washington. A recent New York Times investigation alleged that CFTC staff members who raised concerns about firms tied to Trump allies were sidelined inside the agency.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal later accused the CFTC of becoming “a craven tool of prediction markets & shady crypto firms,” escalating tensions around the regulator’s direction under the Trump administration.
