President Trump on Tuesday publicly defended the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s exclusive authority over prediction markets, warning that rival countries are angling to displace the United States as the global capital for Bitcoin. In a social media post, Trump praised CFTC Chairman Mike Selig for steering the agency’s expanding jurisdiction over event contracts and called out four political figures — Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz and JB Pritzker — as 'SCUM' for opposing his agenda.
Trump’s Warning on Bitcoin Leadership
Trump’s remarks came as monthly prediction market trading volumes have surged past $20 billion, up from roughly $1.2 billion in early 2025. The president framed the CFTC’s authority as a bulwark against foreign competition. “Other countries want what we have,” he wrote. “They want to be the Bitcoin capital. That won’t happen on my watch.” The post didn’t name specific nations, but it underscored the administration’s view that keeping regulators like the CFTC in charge is key to maintaining US dominance in crypto.
Selig’s Solo Role at the CFTC
Chairman Selig is currently the sole sitting commissioner of the typically five-seat CFTC, giving him outsized influence over the agency’s direction. Trump praised Selig directly, calling him “a fighter who understands that American innovation needs American rules.” The CFTC has been aggressively asserting its authority: it recently filed cases against Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Wisconsin, aiming to block state gambling laws from reaching federally regulated venues. The agency argues that prediction contracts traded on CFTC-approved exchanges should not be subject to overlapping state prohibitions.
Kalshi’s Rocketing Valuation and Legal Quagmire
Kalshi, the leading regulated prediction market, was valued at $22 billion in a May 2026 funding round — a stunning figure for a platform that barely existed a few years ago. But its growth has drawn legal fire. Letitia James, the New York attorney general, joined 38 state attorneys general in April to back Massachusetts in its lawsuit against Kalshi. The CFTC’s own cases against the five states are part of a broader push to keep federal oversight intact. Legal observers expect the dispute to reach the Supreme Court, given the conflicting federal and state claims over event contracts.
States Push Back
Trump’s post singled out James, Christie, Walz and Pritzker — all state-level officials or former officials — as enemies of his administration’s crypto-friendly stance. James’s involvement in the Kalshi lawsuit is particularly pointed: she led a coalition of attorneys general arguing that prediction markets violate state gambling laws. The CFTC counters that such contracts are legitimate financial instruments under the Commodity Exchange Act. For now, the legal status of prediction markets remains unresolved in several states, creating a patchwork that exchanges say stifles growth.
The clash is heading for a courtroom showdown. With the Supreme Court likely to take up the case, the next battle over who gets to regulate prediction markets — the CFTC or the states — is just getting started.
