Kalshi says it fined a MrBeast editor and a politician for insider trading

Kalshi, the prediction betting market, has disclosed its first fines for insider trading, as reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. In addition to handing down a $20,000 fine to a MrBeast editor, Kalshi also charged a California gubernatorial candidate over $2,000 after a video on X “appeared to show him trading on his own candidacy.”

In a notice on Wednesday, Kalshi claims MrBeast editor Artem Kaptur traded about $4,000 on YouTube streaming markets, violating its insider trading rules. “Our surveillance systems flagged his near-perfect trading success on markets with low odds, which were statistically anomalous,” Bobby DeNault, legal counsel for Kalshi, writes in the blog post. “We investigated and found that the trader was employed as an editor for the streamer’s show and likely had access to material non-public information connected to his trading.” Kalshi suspended Kaptur from the platform for two years.

Meanwhile, California politician Kyle Langford faces a fine and a five-year ban from the platform, as Kalshi claims he violated its rule that prohibits users from trading on events they “directly or indirectly” influence.

Kalshi notes that neither Langford nor Kaptur withdrew any profits, and that it has reported both of their cases to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It also says it has opened more than 200 investigations over the past year, resulting in more than a dozen active cases.