US Senators and House representatives unite to urge the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to finalize a ban on betting for the 2024 presidential election. The call comes at a crucial moment as Polymarket accumulates over $500 million in bets on the potential 2024 United States presidential election winner. Read the full story to understand the impact on crypto and the electoral process.

Five United States Senators and three House representatives have recently joined forces to renew calls for the ban on betting for the 2024 presidential election. Their efforts are aimed at preventing the potential influence and interference of such markets with the electoral process and preserving public trust in democracy. In an Aug. 5 letter to Rostin Benham, the Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the lawmakers emphasized the urgency of finalizing and implementing the rule to safeguard the sanctity of U.S. elections, stressing that elections should not be commodified for profit.


The letter, signed by Senators Jeff Merkley, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representatives Jamie Raskin, John Sarbanes, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, highlighted concerns that allowing large-scale bets could potentially impact the motivations behind each voter's decision, replacing political convictions with financial calculations. The lawmakers, all members of the Democratic Party, underlined the pivotal nature of elections as not being a "for-profit enterprise," and highlighted the risks of cheapening the democratic process through the introduction of political betting markets.


It is emphasized that these markets could further erode public trust in the electoral process by allowing billionaires and political insiders to wager extraordinary bets, potentially contributing to a specific candidate or party. Moreover, the potential for individuals to bet on elections using non-public information further underscores the need for preventive measures to maintain the integrity of the democratic process.


Complementing the legislative calls, the news comes against the backdrop of decentralized prediction platform, Polymarket, witnessing a substantial surge in bets related to the 2024 presidential election. The platform has reportedly accumulated more than $500 million in bets on the "Presidential Election Winner 2024" market, demonstrating the immense interest and engagement with political betting.


The platform's remarkable volume of bets has also brought to light the broader implications for the cryptocurrency and betting industries. Despite Polymarket's pivotal position in facilitating these bets, it faced regulatory scrutiny earlier in the year, settling a $1.4 million fine with the CFTC for offering multiple event-based binary option event contract markets without obtaining registration. This sheds light on the critical role of regulatory oversight in addressing potential risks and ensuring compliance within the burgeoning space of cryptocurrency-based betting.


The 2024 United States presidential election, just three months away, stands to become a focal point for cryptocurrency betting platforms, with Republican candidate Donald Trump currently perceived as the clear favorite to win. However, there has been a notable shift in recent weeks, as presumptive Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been narrowing the gap, indicating the dynamic nature of political predictions and the associated betting markets within the crypto landscape.


All in all, the coordinated effort by the lawmakers and the significant volume of bets on Polymarket underscore the complexities at the intersection of cryptocurrency, betting, and political processes. As the debate around the potential influence of these markets on elections amplifies, regulators and industry stakeholders face the pivotal task of striking a balance between innovation and safeguarding the foundational pillars of democracy.


(Brayden Lindrea, Cointelegraph, 2024)