The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has warned prediction-market firms that they are routinely going beyond acceptable bounds when seeking to set up large groups of event contracts, saying the agency needs more specific information to evaluate contract submissions individually.

The derivatives regulator, which has asserted a role as the leading U.S. overseer of prediction-market companies including Kalshi, Coinbase, Polymarket and Crypto.com, issued an advisory on Friday reminding firms that they should not rely on broad contract certifications intended to cover a wide range of events.

The agency said that "broad, template-style certifications should not be submitted," marking the second time in recent months that the CFTC has warned market operators against overly generalized filings. In an earlier CFTC release, the agency provided tailored guidance for prediction markets.

Many of the CFTC-regulated "designated contract markets" continue to self-certify event contracts, meaning prediction-market contracts, as broad templates "without supplying the terms and conditions of each proposed permutation and a concise explanation and analysis with respect to the product’s terms and conditions, the underlying commodity, and the product’s compliance," the agency said.

Self-certification is a key mechanism under CFTC rules because registered exchanges can list new products by certifying that they comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and commission regulations, rather than waiting for formal prior approval in every instance. For prediction markets, the CFTC’s warning signals that the agency expects filings to contain enough contract-specific detail for staff to evaluate settlement terms, data sources and compliance obligations before contracts go live.

According to the regulator, bypassing that level of detail can limit its ability to determine whether a firm "has supplied all information, explanation and analysis required" and whether it has "adequately evaluated the settlement methodology, data sources, and core-principles compliance of all permutations of the contract."

The CFTC said, however, that "closely related event contracts may be certified as a class," and pointed to legitimate ways for firms to make consolidated filings that include shared exhibits.

The event-contract market has grown rapidly, particularly in sports-related wagers and political-outcome markets. The sector remains in a developing regulatory environment, with many participants still relatively new and the CFTC’s legal position as the main regulator of prediction markets still subject to uncertainty.

The CFTC’s status as the primary regulator of prediction markets remains legally ambiguous and is expected to be tested in the courts, potentially at the U.S. Supreme Court. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig has made it an agency priority to argue in state and federal courts across the country that the commission has sole authority to oversee event-contract platforms. At the same time, many states have pursued prediction-market businesses over allegations that they are offering illegal sports gambling products that should be regulated at the state level.

That federal-versus-state dispute is central to how prediction-market platforms can expand: CFTC-regulated exchanges argue their contracts fall within federal derivatives oversight, while state officials have sought to apply gambling laws when contracts resemble sports betting or other wagering products. The agency’s latest advisory does not resolve that jurisdictional conflict, but it clarifies the level of documentation the CFTC expects from exchanges using its federal market structure.

Also on Friday, the CFTC issued a notice extending the regulatory status of Kraken’s platform, the Kraken Derivatives Exchange, which has been operating under a "dormant" designation. The last trade on that exchange was executed in early 2025. The CFTC said granting the company’s request means "allowing a registered entity to remain positioned for renewed activity." Kraken said it needed additional time to evaluate its next steps after acquiring Bitnomial earlier this year.