Kalshi Fines MrBeast Employee, Former Candidate in Insider Cases
The CFTC-regulated prediction market said it penalized a MrBeast employee and a former political candidate for trading on non-public information.
Kalshi said it has fined and suspended two users for violating its rules against trading on non-public information, marking the first public insider enforcement actions disclosed by the U.S.-regulated prediction market.
The most significant penalty was imposed on Artem Kaptur, a video editor employed by YouTube creator MrBeast. Kalshi fined him $20,397.58 and suspended his account for two years after determining he traded on contracts tied to MrBeast-related outcomes while in possession of confidential information obtained through his employment.
Kalshi said the trades generated profits that were ordered forfeited. The account was restricted, and the matter was referred to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In a separate action, the exchange fined former California gubernatorial candidate Kyle Langford $2,246.36 and suspended him for five years for trading on contracts related to his own political campaign. Kalshi’s rulebook bars direct participants in an event from trading on associated markets to prevent conflicts of interest.
Kalshi has increasingly emphasized monitoring as trading volumes on event-based contracts have grown. The platform, which operates as a designated contract market under CFTC oversight, allows users to trade binary contracts tied to political, economic and media outcomes.
While insider trading is a defined offense under U.S. securities law, prediction markets fall under derivatives regulation. Kalshi enforces its own rulebook prohibiting the use of material non-public information, even if the conduct does not fall squarely within traditional securities statutes.