A CFTC innovation advisory committee hearing on Thursday ended in a public clash between CME Group chair Terrence Duffy and CFTC chair Michael Selig. The session brought together Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, and executives from DraftKings (Jason Robins), Fanatics Betting + Gaming (Matt King) and FanDuel (Christian Genetski).
Duffy criticised several derivatives he said were open to manipulation and violated the regulator's Core Principle 3. Among them: a contract on the resignation of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, trades by Donald Trump's former teleprompter operator, and sports contracts. Selig countered that the products traded offshore, not in the US, but he was wrong. Trades by operator Gabriel Perez ran on US platform Kalshi. Perez made over $100,000 on inside information about Trump's speeches; Kalshi's own surveillance team flagged the activity and referred it to the CFTC.
Duffy also confronted Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara, asking why the regulator had approved their compute contracts — derivatives tied to the price of AI graphics processors — while CME's application for a similar product remained pending. Lara shot back, asking whether CME had ever faced a manipulation case, and added: 'Maybe you should learn some efficiency.'
Sportsbook CEOs took a careful line. Robins called for an end to 'infighting', King mentioned consumer protection, and Genetski confined himself to a statement on customer trust. Selig did not confirm whether another hearing would take place this year or whether rules on sports contracts would be finalised before the football season starts.
