Trump’s top regulator for prediction markets pledges crackdown on insider trading | CNN Business

The top federal regulator for the rapidly growing prediction market industry vowed Thursday to crack down on insider trading, and said his agency is actively investigating hundreds of possible cases. Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Michael Selig, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, tried to allay rising and bipartisan concerns about prediction markets, where traders can bet on everything from sports to elections, entertainment, the weather and sometimes even war. “I want to be crystal clear to anyone who engages in fraud, manipulation, or insider trading in any of our markets: we will find you, and the full force of the law will come to bear,” Selig told the House Agriculture Committee. He said the CFTC currently has “hundreds or thousands of investigations ongoing” but declined to provide a specific number. A person familiar with the matter later clarified that the agency has hundreds of open investigations right now and said it receives thousands of tips from the public each year. This was Selig’s first time testifying to Congress after taking the reins at the CFTC in December. As chair, he has championed the prediction market industry, which is c