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Want to Short a Stock? Kalshi and C.T.F.C. Allow It as ‘Perpetual Trades.’
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- Kalshi, the world’s largest prediction market, planned to launch a new trading option allowing customers to wager on cryptocurrencies they did not own, a practice previously not permitted in the U.S.
- The company confidently scheduled a high-profile event before formally applying for approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), encouraged by signals of support from CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig.
- Due to delays in the CFTC’s approval process, Kalshi had to cancel its event, and CEO Tarek Mansour reportedly voiced concerns directly to Chairman Selig.
- Starting in May, Chairman Selig reversed longstanding agency policies, granting Kalshi permission to allow customers to bet on prices of individual stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other assets without owning them or settling by a specific date.
- This regulatory shift enables clients to place wagers on asset price movements, such as betting on ExxonMobil’s stock price falling, and receive payouts if their predictions are correct.
