A federal judge temporarily halted a ruling allowing Kalshi to list bets on U.S. elections after concerns from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The judge issued a stay and scheduled a hearing to assess the competing motions between the CFTC and Kalshi. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s X is facing scrutiny from the UK Parliament and legal challenges in Brazil for spreading misinformation and non-compliance. In Nigeria, the SEC started cracking down on unregulated crypto operations, while Tokocrypto secured a full trading license in Indonesia.
Judge Delays Decision on Kalshi Election Betting
A federal judge temporarily halted a decision overturning an order that allowed prediction market platform Kalshi to list bets on the outcome of United States elections. The order was issued by Judge Jia Cobb in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Sept. 9. It grants a temporary administrative stay and schedules a hearing for Sept. 12 to address competing motions from both the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Kalshi.
While the stay is not a ruling on the merits of the CFTC’s motion, it serves as a temporary measure until the upcoming hearing concludes.
The legal case was started by Kalshi in November of 2023, after the CFTC prevented the platform from listing election-related bets like wagers on which political party might control the House of Representatives and Senate in 2025. On Sept. 6, Judge Cobb initially ruled in favor of Kalshi and allowed the platform to list such contracts. However, in response to an emergency motion from the CFTC, the judge temporarily stayed that decision.
The CFTC raised concerns about the impact of allowing election-based betting, and argued that these kinds of activities could pose risks to both market and election integrity. The commission suggested that if the odds of one candidate winning over another were skewed, it could influence voters’ behavior and potentially undermine public confidence in the election process.
The CFTC also pointed out that the Commodity Exchange Act aims to prevent disruptions in market integrity. Allowing these contracts to be traded, and reversing the decision later could create a very disruptive market event. The commission believes that even temporarily preserving the status quo was in the public interest.
The issue of betting on election outcomes is a big topic in the U.S. where there are some concerns about its potential to influence electoral outcomes. Despite these concerns, other platforms, like Polymarket, still list contracts on U.S. election outcomes, including the likelihood of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump winning key states or the presidency.
Musk’s X in Hot Water with UK
In other legal news, Elon Musk may soon be called to testify before the United Kingdom Parliament about the operations of his social media platform, X, according to Labour MP Dawn Butler. Butler is campaigning to chair the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, and named Musk as a key person she plans to invite for testimony on the platform’s practices.
Her idea is supported by fellow Labour MP Chi Onwurah, who is also in the running for the committee chair. Both candidates have made it clear that they are concerned over the role of social media algorithms when it comes to spreading misinformation and hateful content, especially on platforms like X. Butler believes it is very important to formally investigate how algorithms promote harmful material and the moderation efforts on X and other social media platforms.
The calls for Musk’s testimony come after anti-immigration riots in the UK after a tragic knife attack in Southport, where three young girls were killed. Misinformation about the incident spread on X, and ended up fuelling protests and unrest. Musk criticized UK authorities for their own handling of the situation, and even suggested that civil war in the country is inevitable.
Musk’s platform is also facing legal challenges in Brazil, where X has been suspended after a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The platform was penalized for refusing to comply with local regulations, including naming a legal representative in Brazil, and for its alleged role in spreading misinformation linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Despite Musk’s protests against what he called censorship, the suspension has been upheld. X is also required to pay more than $3 million in penalties to resume operations in Brazil.
Crackdown on Unregulated Crypto Begins in Nigeria
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to begin enforcement actions against businesses and people who are involved in unregulated cryptocurrency transactions. Emomotimi Agama, the director-general of Nigeria’s SEC, announced the crackdown on entities offering crypto services without proper regulation.
This move is part of the SEC’s commitment to protecting investors in the crypto industry. Agama also made it very clear that the SEC will not allow unregulated operators to function in Nigeria’s market.
The announcement came after the recent issuance of provisional operating licenses to two local crypto exchanges, Busha Digital and Quidax Technologies, making them the only officially regulated exchanges in Nigeria. The SEC’s decision to regulate these exchanges was driven by the growing interest in digital assets among young Nigerians.
Nigeria’s approach to crypto regulation has, unfortunately, been quite inconsistent. In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned financial institutions from servicing crypto exchanges, but the SEC later introduced a regulatory framework for exchanges. While the CBN lifted the ban on crypto transactions in late 2023, it pushed new regulations in 2024 to restrict peer-to-peer crypto exchanges using the national currency, the naira.
Global exchanges have also faced some serious regulatory challenges in Nigeria. In fact, Nigeria detained two Binance executives after the exchange announced its exit from the Nigerian market. One of these executives has been held for over six months since his arrest in February and is awaiting a bail decision that is expected in October.
Tokocrypto Secures Full License in Indonesia
Indonesian exchange Tokocrypto has received a full license under the country’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, known as Bappebti. On Sept. 9, Tokocrypto announced it secured the Physical Crypto Asset Trader (PFAK) license, granting it full authority to operate as a physical crypto asset trader in compliance with Indonesia’s trading regulations.
Since 2014, crypto exchanges in Indonesia operated under a “prospective crypto exchange” category, and in 2019, Tokocrypto registered as a Prospective Physical Crypto Asset Trader (CPFAK).
Tokocrypto is now the third exchange in Indonesia to receive the PFAK license. CEO Yudhono Rawis shared that this achievement aligns with the company’s strategy to become the leading trading platform in Indonesia. In 2023, Tokocrypto held the largest share of the Indonesian market by trading volume by commanding 43% of the market. Its competitors, Indodax and Upbit Indonesia, held 42% and 15% of the market, respectively.
In 2020, Binance made a big investment in Tokocrypto as part of its strategy to expand in Indonesia. In 2022, Binance increased its stake in the exchange, with former CEO Changpeng Zhao confirming that the investment injected more cash into Tokocrypto and increased Binance’s shareholding. Binance recently described Tokocrypto as its “subsidiary,” which suggests that Binance now holds a controlling interest in the exchange.
This article was originally Posted on Coinpaper.com
