Winklevoss Twins Urge CFTC to Withdraw Proposed Rule on Event Contracts

• Winklevoss twins have objected to a new proposal rule by the CFTC.
• The CFT voted on the proposal in May.
• The twins said the proposal would hinder innovation while favoring some businesses.

Winklevoss twins Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss have urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) to withdraw its proposed rule on event contracts, noting that it favors traditional financial markets at the expense of innovation.

Voted in May, the proposal seeks to ban contracts that speculate on political contests and other areas involving gaming, war, assassination, and terrorism. If passed, these contracts would not be accepted for clearing through a CFTC-registered entity or allowed to be listed for trading.

Winklevoss Twins Fault CFTC’s Proposal

On Saturday, the Winklevoss twins took to X (formerly Twitter) to urge the commodities watchdog to roll back the proposal. Cameron noted that crypto exchange Gemini had written to the CFTC to address the matter.  

“We urge the Commission to withdraw the Proposal. We respectfully submit that the Proposal is contrary to the statutory framework of the CEA and, as a substantive matter, is contrary to the public interest.” Gemini wrote .

Gemini argued that the proposal “plainly benefits” existing market research and political polling firms by limiting direct competition from prediction markets, which it said have existed for decades and have proven “extremely reliable” tools for forecasting future events.

Cameron echoed similar sentiments on X, citing the potential benefits of integrating these markets with crypto.

“More recently, the growth of these markets built on top of crypto protocols promises greater access, liquidity, and aggregation of the wisdom of the crowd for all,” Cameron said.

Noting that the decision regarding the proposal was significant and carried major economic consequences, Cameron implored the CFTC to distance itself from political interests and act independently to do what’s right for America and the American citizens.

Notably, Cameron claimed the proposal would be overturned by courts if adopted, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The court asserted that regulatory agencies cannot expand their power through rulemaking.

Read about FTX’s settlement with the CFTC:
Defunct Exchange FTX Reaches $4B Settlement with CFTC

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