House Democrats | Crypto

The lawmakers are also asking the FTC for information on whether it has plans to take investigative or enforcement action against prediction markets for possible deceptive practices. Nine Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have called on the Federal Trade Commission to launch a probe into how prediction markets are advertising to customers compared to how they present themselves to regulators. In a statement on Wednesday, US Representatives Kevin Mullin and Gabe Vasquez said the FTC should investigate whether online prediction market platforms are misleading customers by advertising as gambling platforms while telling regulators they are financial tools offering investment products. Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts on the outcome of future events. They have also been facing scrutiny over insider trading, with Congress launching a probe into Polymarket and Kalshi in May and questioning the companies’ responses to insider-trading incidents on their platforms. Read more

House Democrats are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over World Liberty Financial’s push for a national trust bank charter, citing systemic risk. Democrats in the US House of Representatives are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over how regulators are handling World Liberty Financial’s bid for a national trust bank charter to issue a dollar-backed token. In a letter on Thursday, 41 House Financial Services Committee Democrats led by Representative Gregory Meeks cited systemic risk, foreign ownership and potential political pressure on the bank chartering process.  They asked Bessent to explain what safeguards exist to prevent foreign government officials or politically connected investors from using the charter process to gain leverage over the US financial system. Read more