The White House is expected to host cryptocurrency and prediction market executives on 19 August, placing the expanding event-contract sector within a wider discussion about US financial innovation and regulation. The reported meeting comes one day before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission convenes the inaugural session of its Innovation Advisory Committee.
The meeting is reportedly scheduled for 19 August at 2:30 pm Eastern Time.
President Donald Trump and CFTC Chair Michael Selig are expected to attend.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins is also expected to participate, bringing both principal US financial regulators into the discussion.
The meeting will precede the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee’s first session on 20 August.
Prediction-market discussions are expected to cover federal and state authority, customer protection and recent enforcement action.
The White House has not published an official agenda or complete participant list.
Politico first reported that the White House was planning the meeting, citing three people familiar with the arrangements. Its report said the attendee list and agenda remained unsettled, while executives from traditional financial companies could also participate.
Politico was unable to confirm whether Trump would attend. However, subsequent reporting from The Block said Trump and Selig were both expected to take part.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins is also expected to attend, according to later reporting citing an agency spokesperson. The involvement of both the SEC and CFTC reflects the meeting’s two main policy tracks: digital-asset regulation and the classification of prediction-market contracts.
The session is reportedly scheduled for 2:30 pm Eastern Time at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Expected participants include representatives from Coinbase, Ripple, Chainlink, Kalshi, a16z and Paradigm, although the White House had not published an official list at the time of writing.
The Block also noted that Donald Trump Jr is a strategic adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket, while his venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, has invested in Polymarket. These relationships provide relevant context to the administration’s engagement with the sector, although there is no suggestion that they have determined the meeting’s agenda or regulatory outcomes.
The meeting comes as the crypto industry continues to press Congress for a comprehensive federal market-structure framework.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly known as the CLARITY Act, would divide oversight of digital assets between the SEC and CFTC. Supporters had hoped to advance the legislation before the Senate’s August recess, but a procedural vote is now scheduled for 15 September.
The proposed meeting may give crypto and traditional finance executives an opportunity to discuss areas of disagreement, including regulatory jurisdiction, stablecoin rewards and government ethics provisions.
However, a White House discussion cannot itself advance the legislation. The Senate would still need 60 votes to proceed, while any amended measure would require further congressional approval.
The White House gathering is expected to precede the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee’s inaugural meeting on 20 August.
The committee includes executives from Kalshi, Polymarket, DraftKings, FanDuel, Coinbase, Robinhood and several major financial exchanges. Its official meeting agenda includes sessions on crypto regulation, artificial intelligence and the development of prediction markets.
The prediction-market discussion will consider customer protection, surveillance, manipulation risks and product-design principles for event contracts. It will also address the respective roles of federal and state authorities, alongside recent litigation and enforcement activity.
When launching the committee, Selig said it would help the Commission “develop clear rules of the road” for emerging financial products and business models.
This work follows the CFTC’s proposed prediction-market framework, which seeks to clarify how event contracts involving sports, politics and other real-world outcomes should be assessed under federal commodities law.
The White House meeting takes place amid a growing dispute over whether sports-related event contracts are financial derivatives or gambling products.
The CFTC maintains that registered prediction markets fall under its exclusive federal jurisdiction. State regulators and gaming authorities argue that contracts resembling sports bets should remain subject to local licensing, taxation and responsible gambling requirements.
A bipartisan coalition of 41 state Attorneys General has urged the CFTC to recognise state authority. Its joint letter stated:
Any distinction between sportsbook bets and prediction-market bets is illusory.
That disagreement has already produced litigation involving Kalshi and Polymarket in several jurisdictions. The outcome could determine whether prediction market operators can offer sports contracts nationwide under a federal framework or must comply with individual state gambling laws.
The regulatory treatment of prediction markets could affect licensing, taxation and compliance across the US gambling industry. Federal oversight may allow registered exchanges to offer sports-related contracts across multiple states, while state jurisdiction could require local licences, geofencing and separate responsible gambling controls.
The issue also affects established betting companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel, which participate in the CFTC committee while operating state-licensed sportsbooks. The White House meeting will not change the legal status of event contracts, but it may indicate how federal officials intend to approach future oversight and industry consultation.
