Latest news with #CFTC
CNBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Trump administration ends Polymarket investigations without charges
Two federal investigations of the online prediction betting site Polymarket have been closed with no charges filed against the cryptocurrency-based marketplace, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Tuesday. "Polymarket has received declination notices from the U.S. Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission related to investigations into the company," said the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss non-public actions. The company declined to comment. Polymarket received the formal notices earlier this month, informing the company that the probes, one civil and one criminal, had been completed, and no further action would be taken. Bloomberg News first reported the notices. The anticlimactic conclusion of the probes is the latest example of the Trump administration dropping actions initiated under the Biden administration against crypto companies or online betting markets. In May, the CFTC moved to drop its appeal of a federal judge's ruling that allowed the prediction market KalshiEx to accept bets on U.S. elections. The Justice Department and CFTC had been investigating whether Polymarket was accepting bets from people in the United States, despite promises made by the company in early 2022 not to do so. The assurances were made after Polymarrket was fined $1.4 million by the CFTC, which concluded that the marketplace had failed to register as a facility for even-based binary options, Bloomberg reported. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, which conducted the criminal investigation of Polymarket, declined to comment on Tuesday. CNBC has requested comment from the CFTC. The closure of the probes comes nearly nine months after FBI agents seized a cellphone and other electronic devices of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan during a raid of his apartment in New York City. Coplan was not criminally charged. Polymarket last year handled more than $3.6 billion in bets placed on the outcome of the presidential election, an NBC analysis found. Coplan blamed the administration of then-President Joe Biden for the raid and investigation. "It's discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents," Coplan said in a post on the social media site X in November. "Polymarket has provided value to 10's of millions of people this election cycle, while causing harm to nobody." Coplan in March thanked President Donald Trump for inviting him to a crypto summit at the White House that month. "This admin's commitment to collaboration with American innovators is revitalizing the American dream," Coplan wrote in a post X. "The future is bright," he added.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ether Sees Record Short Build up as Hedge Funds Pile on Basis Trade
Hedge funds have been aggressively shorting ether (ETH) during the recent uptick to $3,000 as they attempt to harvest a yield by carrying out a basis trade. Hedge funds are shorting ether to the tune of $1.73 billion on the CME, a venue favored by institutional traders, according to data from the Block, which cites the CFTC. CME data also shows that ether leveraged net totals have skewed heavily to the short side, according to X account zerohedge. A basis trade involves shorting an asset on one venue whilst simultaneously buying on another, remaining delta neutral in terms of price action. In this case, traders can secure around 9.5% per year by shorting ETH on the CME while buying spot ETFs, of which there is around $12 billion in assets under management. Data from Coinglass shows that on Thursday alone there was a record $421 million worth of inflows to ether ETFs, a trend that has been ongoing since early May. Those shorting ETH could secure an additional yield if they buy spot ETH and stake it for a further 3.5% per year. It's worth noting that this option isn't possible for spot ETF purchasers as custody is handled by the ETF provider. Bitcoin (BTC) was a popular asset for traders carrying out the basis trade in 2024 but that yield collapsed in March, which temporarily stalled inflows and muted price action.
New York Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Federal Prosecutors Close Inquiry Into Polymarket Betting Website
Federal prosecutors in New York have dropped an investigation into Polymarket, the popular crypto-powered gambling website where users place bets on elections, a person familiar with the matter said. In the waning days of the Biden administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation carried out a search at the New York City home of Polymarket's chief executive, Shayne Coplan, as part of an inquiry into whether the site allowed U.S. users to place bets. A previous settlement with federal investigators banned Polymarket from offering its services to U.S. customers. Polymarket received a letter this month from the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, saying the unit's investigation had been closed, said the person familiar with the inquiry, who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a regulatory agency in Washington, sent a separate letter to Polymarket this month saying it, too, had closed an investigation, the person said. A Polymarket spokesman declined to comment. Representatives for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Southern District prosecutors declined to comment. Bloomberg reported earlier that the investigations had been closed. The investigations were closed amid a broader pullback by the federal government from the Biden administration's crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry. Federal regulators have dropped lawsuits against some of the largest crypto firms, and Congress is considering several pro-crypto bills in the coming days — a series of votes called 'crypto week' by industry supporters. Polymarket became an internet betting phenomenon during last year's presidential campaign. The election odds there were cited by the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump; Elon Musk; and news organizations like CNN. Gamblers on Polymarket wagered more than $100 million on the presidential race. While polls showed a close election, the site's odds gave Mr. Trump a large advantage over Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. In November, F.B.I. agents conducted 'court-authorized law enforcement activity' at Mr. Coplan's address, according to a law enforcement official. In a post on X at the time, Mr. Coplan said the Biden administration was making 'a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents.' Election betting is a murky legal area in the United States. In 2022, Polymarket agreed to stop offering its services to U.S. users after settling with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating without registration. The company paid a $1.4 million fine.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Polymarket probe ended by DOJ in win for crypto bets under Trump
(Bloomberg) — A pair of US investigations into crypto-betting platform Polymarket that went full-throttle in the waning days of the Biden administration are now being shut down just as Donald Trump's White House seeks to give the industry a boost. The predictions exchange received formal notice earlier this month from the US Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission that the probes had ended, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential inquiries. Representatives for Polymarket, the CFTC and DOJ declined to comment. The decisions are the latest example of US authorities reversing course on Biden-era actions involving digital-asset firms. Some in Washington are celebrating what's being billed as 'Crypto Week' with plans to usher in industry-backed rules that have sent the price of Bitcoin to a record. Polymarket's popularity surged during last year's election campaigns as users flocked to the platform to place cryptocurrency wagers on the outcome. But that also drew investigators, examining whether the site was accepting trades from US-based users in violation of a previous settlement with federal regulators. The situation escalated dramatically a week after the November elections, when FBI agents carried out a pre-dawn raid at the Soho penthouse of Shayne Coplan, the force behind Polymarket. Soon after, the 27-year-old chief executive officer lashed out on social media, describing the action as a 'last-ditch effort' to go after companies deemed to be associated with President Joe Biden's political opponents. He also made light of the seizure of his mobile phone on the same day. The bravado captured the mood in the broader crypto community, which saw Trump as a full-throated proponent who would reverse Washington's Biden-era crackdown on crypto firms deemed to be running afoul of regulations. So far, that has proved right. Congress is expected to send the first major legislation to regulate some digital assets to the president's desk for his signature after a House floor vote this week. The confluence of digital assets and prediction markets — which allow users to bet on all sorts of future events — stand to occupy a chunk of the CFTC's time in the Trump administration. Brian Quintenz, an executive at a16z, the digital asset-focused arm of venture-capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, has been nominated to lead the agency. Quintenz has served on the board of directors of Kalshi, Polymarket's chief rival. The CFTC had its own investigation into the platform. The derivatives regulator, which oversees prediction platforms because their contracts are considered akin to swaps, had entered into a settlement with Polymarket in January 2022 over allegations it failed to register with the agency. As part of the deal, Polymarket vowed to wall off US traders from its exchange. Both the CFTC and Justice Department lawyers in Manhattan were investigating whether the New York-based platform continued accepting wagers from people in the US using virtual private networks or other means to bypass the company's controls. The prediction market notched about $2.6 billion in trading volume in November. The resolution of the two investigations may even pave the way for Polymarket to officially re-enter the US market. That could include registering with the CFTC as a futures exchange or potentially acquiring another entity with a CFTC license. Polymarket has been building a war chest with new investment rounds led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. It also recently announced a partnership with Elon Musk's X and xAI to offer event forecasts on the social media platform. —With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Bloomberg
16 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
PredictIt Says It Can Expand Political Trades Under CFTC Deal
By PredictIt, one of the original US politics-betting platforms, said it reached a new agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to allow it expand its operations. The new agreement with PredictIt, a popular site for bets on politics, allows for an unlimited number of participants to trade in each market, ditching a prior 5,000-person cap, the company said in a statement. Traders can now wager up to $3,500 rather than $850 on any single contract. The new metric is the same as the individual political campaign contribution limit, and may be adjusted with each election cycle.
