U.S. Senators Ban Themselves from Trading in Prediction Markets

U.S. senators won’t be weighing in on prediction markets bets after banning themselves

Acting on a simple, 14-line resolution pushed by Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, the Senate agreed unanimously to put a restriction between members and the increasingly popular, controversial betting platforms that have drawn scrutiny over insider-trading activity and fights over who has regulatory jurisdiction.

“United States Senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck, period,” said Senator Moreno in a Thursday statement. “Serving in Congress should never be about finding new ways to profit; it should be about delivering results for the American people.”

Effective immediately, the change to Senate rules now holds that senators can’t enter “an agreement, contract, or transaction that provides for any purchase, sale, payment, or delivery that is dependent on the occurrence, nonoccurrence, or the extent of the occurrence of a specific event.”

Polymarket Adds New Detection Tools After Insider Bet Backlash

Polymarket is partnering with blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis Inc. to help police its platform as prediction markets grapple with increased scrutiny over insider trading.

Tools built by Chainalysis for Polymarket’s cryptocurrency-based exchange include a detection model “designed to surface patterns consistent with insider knowledge in prediction markets,” Polymarket said on Thursday. Other tools will produce evidence for law enforcement and regulators, and provide increased protection against cybersecurity threats.

Deputy Director of Enforcement Jason Burt to Conclude His Tenure at the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Jason Burt, Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement (Specialized Units), will depart the agency on May 1, 2026, after more than 22 years of public service.

“Jason’s exceptional leadership and judgment have been invaluable assets to the SEC throughout his distinguished career,” said SEC Division of Enforcement Acting Director Sam Waldon. “I am grateful for his commitment to the agency’s mission and his ability to lead the Division of Enforcement’s most complex investigations and litigations. I deeply appreciate everything he has done to help the agency accomplish its mission and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Prediction Market Policing Will Test Insider Trading Law Limits

The US agency charged with overseeing derivatives might face difficulty rooting out alleged insider trading and misconduct on prediction markets given the outlines of federal law, even if it succeeds in elbowing out state regulators, attorneys say.

The CFTC wants to exclusively police the emerging prediction markets. For tackling insider trading, it’s bound by anti-fraud rules that parallel federal securities laws. And the burdens of proof, including a breach of a duty of confidentiality, may be a significant hurdle for trades that face public scrutiny.
“I think the government will find that it’s actually very, very difficult to apply the law as it currently exists to capture some of those cases,” said Morrison Cohen LLP’s Jason Gottlieb. “Not all of them. Some of them, people really are using material, nonpublic information, violation of duties of confidentiality, and the usual law applies.”

“But I think people will be surprised when they learn just how much of the stuff that they’re seeing is actually not illegal and it’s not covered by insider trading law,” he said.

Berkshire Has a Website From the ’90s and Buffett Fans Say Don’t Mess With It

Some things never change at Berkshire Hathaway, even when they probably should.

Berkshirehathaway.com, the company’s “Official Home Page,” as the top of the site helpfully notes, looks like its design has barely been updated since the days of Netscape and AOL. There’s a reason for that: It hasn’t.

Warren Buffett may have retired in December, ending his six-decade run as the conglomerate’s CEO. But Berkshire’s internet presence is still very much a reflection of the guy who says he’s only sent an email once.

And many of Berkshire’s biggest fans hope that even as Buffett’s successor puts his stamp on the conglomerate, the website will remain as it was in the age of the Macarena, “Seinfeld” and “Irrational Exuberance.”

“If Greg Abel says, ‘we need to update the Berkshire Hathaway website,’ I will sell my shares,” said Audrey Lee, a search-engine optimizer analyst who has owned Berkshire stock since 2023.