CFTC emergency authority keeps Kalshi trading in New York

The U.S. CFTC invoked “emergency authority” to order KalshiEX to keep operating in New York, countering actions by New York Attorney General Letitia James to block Kalshi’s sports prediction contracts. The step follows Kalshi’s notice to the regulator that a market emergency was underway. CFTC Chair Michael Selig said Congress treated such derivatives-style exchanges as part of the Commodity Exchange Act, not a “patchwork” of state gambling laws. He argued New York cannot effectively shut down an interstate market. This is the CFTC’s third intervention involving Kalshi (after similar moves in Michigan). The latest order also comes after a judge had already denied Kalshi’s attempt to halt New York’s case. For crypto traders, the key read-through is that CFTC emergency authority signals stronger federal protection for federally regulated derivatives venues. That could reduce near-term venue and operational risk for crypto-adjacent prediction market products, but the underlying state-vs-federal court battle remains unresolved. Traders should monitor how the CFTC emergency authority order affects litigation timelines and risk pricing in prediction-market sentiment, especially as broader markets look mixed/flat into CPI and regulators keep pushing rules and enforcement.