Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins announced that fund sponsors have agreed to delay several event contract ETFs tied to prediction markets while the agency seeks public input on how to respond to recent market changes. According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, the new SEC chair framed the delay as a process question rather than a rejection, with staff planning to seek public input on how the agency should handle the expanding sector. Roundhill Investments, GraniteShares, and Bitwise's PredictionShares brand have filed roughly two dozen event contract ETF proposals since February, with these funds packaging binary bets on elections, recessions, and sports outcomes into brokerage-friendly wrappers.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Hockey League announced a memorandum of understanding aimed at policing event contracts built around professional hockey. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the CFTC-NHL agreement formalizes information sharing and coordinated monitoring between the agency and the league, with designated representatives communicating regularly on integrity issues and sharing data confidentially. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attached a statement to the CFTC release, with the league already running licensing deals with Kalshi and Polymarket, giving each platform settlement feeds for hockey contracts. CFTC Chair Mike Selig signed a similar pact with Major League Baseball in March and has previously warned on fraud inside prediction market venues.
ETF assets have tripled since 2019, according to Atkins, while prediction market open interest reached $1.2 billion in weekly volume earlier this year. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the announcements show the SEC and CFTC moving in step to handle a sector that has expanded faster than regulators have written rules. The two agencies signed their own coordination memorandum in March 2026 covering product definitions and emerging technology, with both chairs being appointees of the current administration who favor what they call innovation with guardrails.
Retail investors being able to access event contract ETFs now hinges on the public comment process, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal. The parallel regulatory approach by the SEC and CFTC represents a coordinated effort to address the rapid growth of prediction markets while maintaining oversight of these expanding financial products. The agencies' coordination memorandum from March 2026 establishes a framework for handling product definitions and emerging technology in this rapidly evolving market segment.
