Emerging Regulatory Priorities at the DOJ, CFTC, SEC and FINRA, including Insider Trading in Prediction Markets

This session examines the changes in leadership and senior management now reshaping the SEC, DOJ, CFTC, and FINRA. At the SEC, the panel reviews commission-level developments and the enforcement leadership of David Woodcock and Os Nawaz. At the CFTC, Michael Selig has been confirmed as permanent chair, succeeding Acting Chairman Pham, with a pro-crypto approach expected and an end to regulation by enforcement in the crypto space; new enforcement director David Miller has announced priorities that include insider trading on prediction markets. The panel also considers whether Democratic commissioners will be appointed and the quorum question left open by the Commodity Exchange Act. At FINRA, Bob Cook’s FINRA Forward initiatives, announced April 21, 2025, and the reorganization of the former Market Regulation Department — with Greg Rupport named Chief Regulatory Officer and Stephanie Dumont named Chief Market Services Officer — round out the discussion.

This session turns to process changes in enforcement at each regulator, with practical tips from each panelist. At the SEC: the emphasis on clear regulatory rules of the road, real-world experience obtaining pre-Wells and Wells discovery from the investigative file, and how Wells meetings are being conducted. At FINRA: referral discussions with Enforcement attorneys and the Director, reverse proffers of the Staff’s evidence, and the continued acceptance of white papers and pre-Wells submissions. At the CFTC: the advisories issued during Acting Chair Pham’s tenure — including a Wells process amended to follow the SEC, lengthening the response time from 14 days to a minimum of 30 days and requiring that submissions reach the Commissioners — the referral standards from the operating divisions to Enforcement and to DOJ, and the new self-reporting and cooperation advisory issued by Director Miller. The panel closes with FINRA Forward developments: rule modernization (outside activity requirements under Regulatory Notice 25-05, the revised $300 gift limit, capital acquisition broker rules, and the corporate financing process), enhanced Report Cards, and new cybersecurity and fraud tools.

Insider-trading exposure is no longer limited to traditional securities markets — prediction-market and event-contract activity can create risk for employees across industries. This session explains how prediction markets work, from payout mechanics to price movement before event resolution, across event categories including politics, finance, culture, entertainment, sports, crypto, and corporate developments. It covers the fast-moving regulatory landscape — federal and state jurisdictional disputes over sports-related event contracts, litigation involving prediction-market platforms and state regulators, CFTC involvement, potential Supreme Court implications, and tribal and private litigation — and where SEC and CFTC rulemaking may be headed under CEA Section 5c(c)(5)(C) and CFTC Regulation 40.11, including the proposed treatment of “gaming” and the potential for event contracts to be treated as swaps, security-based swaps, or mixed swaps. The session then applies the core insider-trading framework to prediction markets, walks through exchange disciplinary actions and federal enforcement examples — including the April 2026 SDNY matters U.S. v. Gannon Van Dyke and U.S. v. Michele Spagnuolo, the CFTC settlement against George Santos, and Kalshi’s internal enforcement programs — and closes with corporate compliance implications beyond Wall Street: updating handbooks, codes of conduct, and training before an incident.