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The SEC proposes EU debt for its exemption list as the CFTC penalises a White House staffer

The SEC published a proposal on 28 August to add European Union debt obligations to the foreign-government list covered by Exchange Act Rule 3a12-8, with a 60-day comment period. The CFTC settled charges the same day against Gabriel Perez, a White House teleprompter operator who traded KalshiEX event contracts on words the president might use, using speeches he saw before delivery.

Economics & Markets··Midday
In a bright wood-panelled hearing room, two distinct empty navy chairs face a shared long table; at left, an anonymous clerk seen from behind places a closed blue folder on the table.

The SEC proposes adding European Union debt

The SEC published a proposal on 28 August to add European Union debt obligations to the list of foreign government debt covered by Exchange Act Rule 3a12-8. The rule treats listed instruments as exempted securities for futures purposes, so futures on European Union debt would fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while the underlying securities stay subject to federal securities law. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said gaps like this one, where the debt of several European Union member states was covered but the debt of the European Union itself was not, create the kind of inconsistency that breeds confusion rather than confidence in the markets. The proposal carries a 60-day comment period from publication in the Federal Register.[1]

The CFTC penalises a White House staffer

The CFTC issued an order on 28 August settling charges against Gabriel Perez, a teleprompter operator for the White House, for trading event contracts on the KalshiEX platform that pay out on words or phrases the president may use, using speeches he saw before they were delivered. The trades, between December 2025 and February 2026, generated more than 107,500 dollars. The order requires disgorgement of 107,539.02 dollars and a civil penalty of 65,000 dollars, and bans Perez from prediction markets for three years. The CFTC found he misappropriated information obtained through his employment in breach of a duty of trust and confidence.[2]

Two regulators address different market gaps

The SEC proposal targets the missing European Union debt entry on the futures exemption list; Atkins stressed that inconsistency weakens market confidence. The CFTC order settles misuse of information gained in public service on prediction markets. The SEC release focuses on sovereign-debt futures jurisdiction. The CFTC order focuses on duty-of-trust breaches on event contracts.[1], [2]

References

  1. News sourceU.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionThe SEC proposes adding European Union debt to its futures exemption list↩1↩2
  2. News sourceU.S. Commodity Futures Trading CommissionThe CFTC orders a White House staffer to pay 172,539.02 dollars over prediction-market trades↩1↩2
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