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Dren Hima
Dren Hima is Head of Research at Coincub, leading research across digital asset regulation, licensing, market structure, tokenization and institutional adoption.
Kalshi CEO Backs Insider Trading Ban for Congress and Officials
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour backs insider trading bans for Congress and administration officials. Some Democrats want election contracts banned outright.
Kalshi chief executive Tarek Mansour told CNBC on November 5 that he supports insider trading bans for members of Congress and administration officials on prediction markets. Some Democrats want election contracts banned altogether.
- Mansour said Kalshi has policed insider trading since it was founded in 2018.
- The Senate barred its own members and staff from such trading in April.
- A Washington Post analysis counted about $1.3 billion in midterm wagers on Kalshi alone.
What Kalshi’s CEO said about insider trading
Kalshi is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US derivatives regulator. Its users trade event contracts that pay $1 if a given event occurs. These prediction markets let people bet on outcomes such as elections.
CNBC disclosed during the interview that it has a commercial relationship with Kalshi, including customer acquisition and a minority investment.
Mansour called for strict rules barring Congress, the administration and others from trading markets they can influence. He said: “If somebody has exclusive rights and privilege in a competition then the competition is fake.”
He cited former Rep. George Santos, whom the CFTC ordered to pay about $35,000 over bets against himself. CNBC’s hosts raised a call from Rahm Emanuel, a former Chicago mayor, for an ethics bill covering stock and prediction market trading. Kalshi also opened a probe in October into bets about Trump’s press secretary placed before the pick became public.
Democrats and lawmakers push tougher limits
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced the STOP Corrupt Bets Act earlier this year. It would ban event contracts on elections, sports, military actions and most government actions.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has also urged a ban on election trades. Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, has introduced bipartisan legislation covering election outcomes.
The Washington Post analysis counted nearly $1.9 billion wagered on the midterms across Kalshi and rival Polymarket.
What is at stake for Kalshi
Which approach Congress favors will decide whether US-regulated platforms can keep listing election contracts. Kalshi closed a $1 billion funding round at a $40 billion valuation in October. No bill has passed yet.
