Trump throws weight behind CFTC in prediction markets battle

US President Donald Trump has publicly entered the escalating fight over prediction markets, declaring that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC) holds exclusive authority over the space and calling out state officials by name for attempting to regulate platforms that his administration considers under federal jurisdiction.

Taking to social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump voiced direct support for CFTC Chair Michael Selig and the agency’s push to assert control over prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have faced cease-and-desist orders and lawsuits from multiple states over the past year.

“It is critically important that the CFTC’s exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained, and that they will thrive,” Trump wrote.

The president reserved particular criticism for a group of state officials whose jurisdictions have taken legal action against prediction market platforms. Naming former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker directly, Trump made clear he sees state-level intervention as an obstacle to a federal standard his administration is actively developing.

“Under my leadership, we are setting ‘rules of the road’ that are the Gold Standard for the States,” Trump wrote. “We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules!”

Further, Trump also framed the issue in competitive terms, warning that other nations are moving into prediction markets and that the United States cannot afford to fall behind. “Other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top,” he wrote, adding: “It is a major Industry, and we must protect it.”

Selig has spent the past year making the same argument through regulatory action and litigation. The CFTC under his leadership has sued Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, and Minnesota, contending those states overstepped by applying gaming and gambling laws to platforms that operate as federally designated contract markets.

Platforms including Kalshi have responded to state actions with their own lawsuits, arguing they are solely regulated by the CFTC. Prediction markets surged in public visibility following the 2024 presidential election cycle and have continued to attract users and scrutiny in equal measure since.

Trump’s post also touched on cryptocurrency, which he described as a “major industry” deserving of federal protection.