CFTC withdraws proposal for 'event contracts' rule, relaxes market forecasting restrictions

Mike Selig, Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, withdrew the 2024 proposal for the "event contract" rule, which had attempted to ban predictive market contracts based on political event outcomes. Selig stated that the proposal constitutes "improper value regulation" by the previous government before the 2024 election, and the new regulations will be based on a rational interpretation of the Commodity Exchange Act to promote innovation. Also withdrawn was an industry consultation released in September last year, which Selig claimed caused confusion among market participants. The Trump administration's support for the prediction market has attracted institutions including Coinbase and Cboe to plan entering the field. With the advancement of the Congressional Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act, the CFTC is expected to become the core regulatory agency for digital assets and may gain regulatory authority over non securities encrypted spot markets.