CFTC scrutinizes Kalshi after $5B in near identical ether perp trades: WSJ

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining unusual trading activity on Kalshi after nearly one million ether perpetual futures trades occurred in almost identical amounts, according to The Wall Street Journal. More than one third of trades in the market in recent weeks were clustered around $5,500, with the pattern accounting for more than $5 billion in ether perpetual volume over the past month, according to the Journal’s analysis of public data. The CFTC is reviewing the activity before determining whether to open an enforcement investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the Journal. The agency said it could not comment on whether an investigation is underway. The pattern has prompted allegations of wash trading, which involves trades lacking genuine economic purpose that can create a misleading impression of market activity. Kalshi has denied the allegations. The company said hundreds of distinct traders participated in the transactions and argued that the repeated sizes resulted from market makers maintaining fixed resting orders that were repeatedly hit by faster traders. Kalshi said self trading is mechanically blocked and coordinated wa...