The U.S. regulator CFTC has concluded its proceedings against Gabriel Perez, a former teleprompter operator in the U.S. presidential administration, accused of insider trading on the prediction platform Kalshi. The defendant's total financial obligations amounted to approximately $172,000: of which $107,539 is the disgorgement of illegally obtained profits, and $65,000 is a civil penalty. This is the first case of its kind where access to government information became a tool for manipulation in the event contracts market.
Nature of the allegations and mechanics of the scheme
According to my analysis, Perez used his official position between December 2025 and February 2026. Working with the texts of the president's official speeches before their public release, he had exclusive access to sensitive information. Based on this data, he entered into trades involving contracts on mentions of the head of state, which gave him an undeniable advantage over other market participants. The regulator classified this as a direct violation of the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act.
Regulator's position and consequences
In addition to financial penalties, the CFTC order requires Perez to immediately cease unlawful activity and imposes a three-year ban on trading any exchange instruments. It is important to emphasize that this decision sends a clear signal to the entire market: prediction platforms, despite their innovative nature, are not a "gray area" for manipulation.
My comment as an analyst: This case is a landmark precedent for the entire event contracts industry. It demonstrates that the CFTC is actively extending traditional principles of market integrity to new digital assets. However, one should consider: if even White House employees use insider information on such platforms, how vulnerable are other prediction markets? Investors should take into account that the regulatory guillotine catches even the most high-profile figures, meaning liquidity and trust in Kalshi and its counterparts could be undermined in the short term.