According to TechFlow, on September 13, Coindesk reported that Kalshi's newly launched political prediction contract was suspended just a few hours after it went online. Earlier, District of Columbia Court Judge Jia Cobb ruled on the morning of September 12 that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s ban on Kalshi from listing the U.S. political prediction market exceeded its authority. Kalshi then launched its first U.S. political prediction market that afternoon.
However, the CFTC quickly filed an emergency motion with the Court of Appeals to suspend trading in these markets while it considers whether to appeal the full ruling. The Court of Appeals supported the CFTC's request. As of 11:30 Beijing time on September 13, two new contracts on Kalshi's website regarding which party will win control of the House of Representatives and the Senate have been suspended.
In its application, the CFTC stressed that if the contracts continue to trade, the public interest could be harmed. Kalshi said that Judge Cobb's ruling clearly stated that elections are neither "gambling" nor "illegal activities," so the CFTC has no authority to block such contracts. The appeals court has asked Kalshi to submit a response by the evening of Friday, September 13, and the CFTC can submit a reply by the evening of Saturday, September 14.
