US federal judge ruled that Kalshi sports contract was not a swap CFTC failed to obtain exclusive jurisdiction

U.S. federal judge Vernon D. Oliver ruled that Kalshi's sporting event contracts were not swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC did not obtain exclusive jurisdiction. The ruling stated that sports event contracts account for 80% to 90% of Kalshi's platform listing contracts and revenue, and the CFTC has never reviewed any of these contracts in accordance with relevant special rules. Coinbase Financial Markets lost the case on the same grounds. In January, it offered Kalshi contracts through the platform as a futures commission trader rather than a designated contract market, and Connecticut had not previously issued a stop and termination order against it. Kalshi was valued at about $11 billion at a February hearing and has about 24,000 users in the state.