Kalshi Seeks Permission To Trade Political Contracts Amid CFTC Appeal

According to CoinDesk, prediction market company Kalshi has requested permission to list and trade its new political contracts while the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) appeals a recent court decision. Last week, a federal judge ruled in favor of Kalshi, allowing its political prediction markets to operate in the U.S. Kalshi argues that the CFTC would not suffer significant harm if the contracts were traded during the appeal process, whereas the company would face substantial and irreparable harm if it is prevented from allowing bets on the 2024 elections. Kalshi emphasized that a stay would deny the company significant revenue from trading these contracts and strip the Congressional Control Contracts of any value derived from the current election cycle, which will conclude before the appeal is resolved. The company contends that a stay would effectively allow the CFTC to win in practice despite losing in court. Kalshi initially filed to list the markets last year but was blocked by the CFTC due to concerns about political prediction markets. After winning the lawsuit last week, the CFTC sought an emergency stay to prevent Kalshi from immediately listing its contracts but lost that battle as well. The contracts went live on Thursday afternoon but were temporarily suspended by the D.C. Appeals Court while it considers the emergency stay. In its Friday filing, Kalshi aims to persuade the appeals court judges to permit trading of its contracts while the CFTC's appeal progresses through the court system. The company argues that the stay would prevent it from recouping the millions of dollars spent on developing and marketing its new products and hinder its ability to establish a competitive niche in a market where offshore platforms like Polymarket operate their own prediction markets.