CME-Backed Group Pushes Back on Kalshi as Phantom Rolls Out Prediction Markets
The Commodity Markets Council wants the CFTC to block Kalshi's first oil perp, as Kalshi's October volume hits $55.33B and Phantom brings its markets to US users.
A trade group whose members include CME, NYMEX and ICE Futures US urged the CFTC on Thursday to withhold approval of WTIPERP, the no-expiry WTI crude perpetual Kalshi filed for on Tuesday. The pushback lands as Phantom begins rolling out Kalshi's prediction markets to its US users.
What's the Scoop?
Incumbents Push Back: The council's letter didn't name Kalshi, Bloomberg reported. It also asked the CFTC to work with foreign regulators to curb US traders' VPN access to offshore platforms.
Phantom Distribution: Phantom users fund trades with its CASH stablecoin, complete KYC on Kalshi and pay $0.02 per contract though some market categories are blocked in Michigan, Nevada and Washington.
Elsewhere in Prediction Markets: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's October 20 memo bars Pentagon personnel from betting with nonpublic information on prediction markets including Polymarket and Kalshi. "Our enemies watch movements in these markets," he wrote. Separately, Polymarket has reportedly fired CMO Matthew Modabber after an internal misconduct probe, according to the New York Post via CoinDesk — no word on why yet.
David Christopher
David is a writer/analyst at Bankless. Prior to joining Bankless, he worked for a series of early-stage crypto startups and on grants from the Ethereum, Solana, and Urbit Foundations. He graduated from Skidmore College in New York. He currently lives in the Midwest and enjoys NFTs, but no longer participates in them.
