Prediction market operator and prominent election betting provider Kalshi announced Monday that future US President Donald Trump‘s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has joined the company as a strategic adviser.
Founder and CEO Tarek Mansour told CNBC that Trump Jr.’s interest in technology and new media made him a good fit for the company, adding that Trump Jr. has “always been in tune with what the American people are feeling and wanting.”
Trump Jr. said the prediction market correctly predicting his father’s election victory in November was what motivated him to join the firm.
“On Election night at Mar-a-Lago, while biased outlets called the race a coin toss, my family and close friends used the prediction market Kalshi to know we won hours ahead of the fake news media,” Trump Jr. wrote on X on Monday. “I immediately knew I had to contribute to their mission. Today, I am proud to announce that I am joining Kalshi as a strategic advisor.”
Mansour added on the social media platform that he “couldn’t be more excited” to welcome Trump Jr. to the company.
“Prediction markets have the potential to be the largest financial market and a powerful source of truth,” he wrote. “I can’t think of anyone better to help drive this mission.”
Speaking to CNBC, he dismissed any potential suggestions that the move to work with Trump Jr. is politically charged. “We’re not a political company in any way, shape or form. We’re a company that’s deeply obsessed with building a great prediction market that brings truth to the world.”
Kalshi rose to prominence in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, offering bets on election predictions after winning a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The CFTC had previously blocked Kalshi from offering its markets, arguing that Kalshi’s contracts were linked to gambling harm and could lead to market manipulation by stock traders. However, the company sued the CFTC, arguing that the regulator did not have the proper authority to issue the ban.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of Kalshi, finding that the CFTC had overstepped its authority. That ruling allowed Kalshi to offer bets on the election, but the case is not over. The CFTC has appealed this latest ruling, with oral arguments scheduled for January 17.
This comes days before current CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam, who has opposed Kalshi’s election contracts, steps down on Trump Sr.’s inauguration day on January 20. Behnam will subsequently be replaced by a Trump appointee.
In the meantime, Kalshi offers popular markets, including how many executive orders Trump Sr. might issue on his first day in office and who might get a pardon from President Joe Biden.
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