CFTC submits an amicus brief to the Massachusetts Supreme Court defending federal regulation of prediction markets

Deep Tide TechFlow News: On April 25, according to an announcement on the CFTC official website, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an amicus brief with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on April 24, reaffirming its exclusive jurisdiction over the U.S. commodities derivatives market (including prediction markets). The case is Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. KalshiEx LLC (Case No. SJC-13906). CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig said that Congress has authorized the CFTC to hold sole regulatory authority over the commodities derivatives market and warned that any state attempting to override federal law would “be seen in court.”

The brief sets out in detail the legislative history and framework of the Commodity Exchange Act and explains that the federal regulatory system has priority over relevant state laws. Previously, the CFTC has successively filed lawsuits against Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York, and successfully obtained a temporary restraining order against Arizona, preventing it from exercising state-level jurisdiction over prediction markets regulated by the CFTC.