The Chairman of the U.S. CFTC withdrew the 2024 proposal to regulate event trading contracts in prediction markets.

PANews reported on February 5th that Mike Selig, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has withdrawn his 2024 rule proposal to ban contracts based on political events and repealed previous guidance that caused confusion in the industry. Selig stated that the new rule will be based on a reasonable interpretation of the Commodity Exchange Act and will promote responsible innovation in the derivatives market.

Previous proposals had equated political event contracts with illegal contracts related to war and terrorism, arguing that they were "not in the public interest." However, with the Trump administration appointing new leadership, the CFTC is shifting its support towards prediction markets, including platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Selig's actions have paved the way for more companies, such as Coinbase and Cboe, to enter the prediction market space.

In addition, the CFTC is actively participating in Congressional negotiations on the Crypto Markets Structure Act, which aims to establish it as the primary regulator of crypto spot markets that do not involve securities.