Crypto lobby forms group, presses CFTC on prediction markets

The Digital Chamber has launched a U.S. Prediction Markets Working Group and asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to clarify how it oversees prediction markets. The group announced the effort on Tuesday and sent a letter to CFTC Chair Mike Selig urging formal rulemaking and guidance instead of case-by-case enforcement.

The letter welcomed recent remarks from Selig that CFTC staff are preparing rulemaking and guidance for prediction markets. “In our letter, we applauded Chair Selig’s recent statements regarding the intent for CFTC staff to provide tailored rulemaking and guidance for this rapidly growing segment of the financial and digital asset industries,” the group wrote.

The Chamber argued that overlapping responsibilities among federal and state authorities have left operators unsure how to comply. “For too long, operators in this space have navigated a maze of regulatory ambiguity including unclear overlaps between federal and state regulators,” the letter stated.

The organization outlined a multi-year plan focused on U.S. markets. It intends to continue working with the CFTC, develop policy principles, submit recommendations, publish research, and assemble a coalition of industry stakeholders and market participants.

It also plans to participate in court cases through friend-of-the-court briefs to explain what it calls the “CFTC’s historic regulatory exclusivity” over prediction markets.

The Chamber described prediction markets as a growing area within finance and digital assets. It asked the CFTC to set a stable federal framework for the sector and to preempt conflicting rules at the state level.

As we covered previously, on Feb. 17, 2026, the CFTC told the Ninth Circuit in an amicus brief that it holds exclusive federal authority over event contracts, countering state efforts to regulate prediction markets as gambling.

The filing came in Crypto.com’s appeal against Nevada, which had moved to block sports-event contracts; a lower court had said the contracts were outside CFTC jurisdiction. Hours later, Nevada brought a civil case against Kalshi after a Ninth Circuit ruling cleared state action. Kalshi sought federal court, citing the same exclusive-jurisdiction claim.