CFTC Probes Trump Aide for Insider Trading on Kalshi's Mention Markets
Summary
The CFTC is investigating Trump's teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez for potential insider trading on Kalshi's mention markets. Kalshi's surveillance team flagged suspicious trades and referred the matter to regulators, freezing over $90,000 in profits. The White House confirmed Perez is on unpaid leave and will no longer work there. This escalates regulatory scrutiny on prediction markets, directly implicating Kalshi's platform integrity and its ability to police sensitive contracts. The probe follows Kalshi's June move to mandate employment disclosures and launch a whistleblower portal, but this incident tests those safeguards in real time. With Kalshi reportedly eyeing an IPO and a $40B valuation, any perception of systemic insider trading risk could chill investor appetite.
This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10. Source: Reuters.